HC reserves judgment on encroachment of 1,000-yr-old lake

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has reserved judgment in a writ petition concerning the alleged encroachment of a 1,000-year-old lake in the state, following a protracted legal battle spanning decades.The matter, registered as WP 26097/2018, was heard at Court Hall 7 before Justice R. Devdas. The case relates to a 13-acre lake, which, according to the petition, was usurped in the early 1990s by an individual who fabricated a land tribunal order. Using this forged document, the encroacher reportedly obtained a civil court decree, despite the court lacking jurisdiction.

Subsequently, the lake bed was filled with soil and debris, and trees were planted to erase physical evidence of its existence—an alleged tactic used in several parts of Karnataka, leading to the disappearance of numerous lakes. Petitioners argued that state officials had failed in their duty to safeguard public commons, either through negligence or collusion.

The matter eventually reached the Supreme Court, but in 2018, the state Advocate General invoked the legal principles that “fraud vitiates all” and “once a lake, always a lake.” The High Court then permitted the challenge and issued a stay order, but the case remained pending for nearly five years.