Bengaluru, DHNS: The Karnataka High Court on Thursday passed a conditional interim order directing the BBMP to open the locks at the Mantri Mall/Square in Malleswaram by 10 am on Friday. The vacation bench presided over by Justice Jyoti Mulimani passed this order after considering the affidavit by the Mantri Group, which stated that it would pay, without prejudice to its contentions, Rs 20 crore to the BBMP on or before July 31, 2024, towards property tax.
The BBMP had locked the premises due to non-payment of property tax dues worth Rs 41 crore. Abhishek Propbuild Private Limited, an offshoot of the Mantri Group, had moved the civil court questioning the demand notice and the locking up of the premises. On Wednesday, the civil court had directed the company to pay 50% of the tax arrears within 10 days.
The Mantri Group moved the high court on Thursday and claimed that the tax amount is only Rs 18.5 crore and that it is willing to settle the same by the end of July. Senior advocate Prabhuling K. Navadgi submitted that 250 shops and business establishments, along with around 2,500 employees, have been affected ever since the mall was locked by the BBMP on May 10, 2024.
The group claimed that the locking has been causing a business loss of more than Rs 7 to 8 crore every day and that the BBMP had consecutively committed the illegal action of locking the mall as a coercive measure for the fifth time now. According to the petitioner, on the day of Akshaya Tritiya, important business for jewelers inside the mall was hampered, leading to manifold losses.
“Earlier provision of BBMP Act viz. section 148 which is now repealed and replaced by section 156 does not provide for locking of the premises and the course of action provided is wholly different. Even in respect of the immovable property, it is only an attachment that can be brought and not seizure,” the petition said.