Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Special Court (procedure for Appointment of Chairman, Judicial and Revenue Members) Rules, 2026.

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NOTIFICATION The draft of the Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Special Court (Procedure for Appointment of Chairman, Judicial and Revenue Members) Rules, 2026 which the Government of Karnataka proposes to make in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 18 of the Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Act, 2011 (Karnataka Act No. 38 of 2014) is hereby published as required by sub-section (1) of section 18 of the said Act, for the information of all the persons likely to be affected thereby and notice is hereby given that the said draft will be taken into consideration after the expiry of fifteen days from the date of its publication in the official Gazette.

Any objection or suggestion which may be received by the State Government from any person with respect to the said draft before the expiry of the period specified above will be considered by the State Government. Objections and suggestions may be addressed to the Additional Chief Secretary to Government, Revenue Department, M.S. Building, Dr.B.R Ambedkar Veedhi, Bengaluru-560001.

(1)2 DRAFT RULES

1. Title and commencement.- (1) These rules may be called the Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Special Court (Procedure for Appointment of Chairman, Judicial and Revenue Members) Rules, 2026.

(2) They shall come into force from the date of their final publication in the Official Gazette.

2. Definitions.- (1) In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(a) “Act” means the Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Act, 2011 (Karnataka Act No. 38 of 2014);

(b) “Chairman” means the Chairman of the Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Special Court appointed under section 7;

(c) “Judicial Member” means a person who is or has been a District Judge;

(d) “Revenue Member” means a person who holds or has held a post not below the rank of Deputy Commissioner of a District;

(e) “Screening Committee” means the Committee constituted under rule 4 for recommending names for appointment of Chairman; and

(f) “Selection Committee” means the Committee constituted under rule 7 for recommending names for appointment of Judicial and Revenue Members.

(2) All other Words and expressions used herein but not defined in these rules shall have the meaning as assigned to them in the Act.

3. Appointment of Chairman.- (1) The Chairman of the Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Special Court shall be appointed by the State Government, in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court of Karnataka, from among persons who are or have been Judges of a High Court.

(2) No person shall be eligible for appointment as Chairman if he has attained the age of Sixty five years on the date of appointment.

(3) The term of office of the Chairman shall be three years or until he attains the age of Sixty five years, whichever is earlier.

(4) The Chairman shall not hold any other office of profit or engagement during his tenure.

(5) The Chairman may be re-appointed for such further term as the State Government may decide, within the overall age limit of Sixty Five years and after consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court of Karnataka.

(6) Before appointment, every selected candidate shall furnish an undertaking that he does not and will not have any financial or other interest as is likely to affect prejudicially his functions as a Chairman.

4. Constitution of the Screening Committee for appointment of Chairman.- (1) There shall be a Screening Committee for recommending to the State Government a panel of eligible persons for appointment as Chairman of the Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Special Court.

(2) The Screening Committee shall consist of the following officers, namely:-

(a) The Chief Secretary to Government, Karnataka — Chairperson;3

(b) The Principal Secretary to Government, Law, Justice and Human rights Department — Member;

(c) The Additional Chief Secretary to Government, Revenue Department — Member-Secretary / Convener.

(3) The Screening Committee shall, after examining the service record, integrity, and suitability of eligible persons, recommend a panel of three names in

order of preference to the State Government.

(4) The State Government shall, after consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court of Karnataka, appoint one among the persons recommended by the Screening Committee as Chairman of the Special Court.

5. Appointment of Judicial members.- (1) The State Government shall, as far as possible request the High Court of Karnataka to depute two serving District Judges to the post of Judicial Member.

(2) If serving District Judges are not available for deputation, the State Government may appoint retired District Judges as Judicial Members, following the procedure specified in these rules.

(3) The term of office of the Judicial Member shall be three years or until he attains the age of Sixty five years, whichever is earlier.

(4) No person shall be eligible for appointment as Judicial Member if he has been dismissed, removed, or compulsorily retired from Government service, or has attained the age of sixty-five years on the date of appointment.

(5) The Judicial Members shall be appointed by the State Government on the recommendation of the Selection Committee constituted under rule 7.

(6) Before appointment, every selected candidate shall furnish an undertaking that he does not and will not have any financial or other interest as is likely to affect prejudicially his functions as a Member.

6. Appointment of revenue members.- (1) The State Government shall, as far as possible, depute two serving officers of the Indian Administrative Service or the Karnataka Administrative Service, having not less than three years’ experience in the cadre of Deputy Commissioner, as Revenue Members.

(2) In the event that sufficient eligible serving officers are not available for deputation, the State Government may proceed to appoint retired Deputy Commissioners as Revenue Members, following the procedure prescribed in these rules.

(3) The term of office of the revenue member shall be three years or until he attains the age of sixty five years, whichever is earlier.

(4) No person shall be eligible for appointment as Revenue Member if he has been dismissed, removed, or compulsorily retired from Government service, or has attained the age of sixty five years on the date of appointment.

(5) The revenue members shall be appointed by the State Government on the recommendation of the Selection Committee constituted under Rule 7.4

(6) Before appointment, every selected candidate shall furnish an undertaking that he does not and will not have any financial or other interest as is likely to affect prejudicially his functions as a Member.

7. Constitution of the Selection Committee for appointment judicial and revenue members.- The Selection Committee for recommending the appointment of Judicial and Revenue Members shall consist of the following members, namely:-

(a) The Additional Chief Secretary to Government, Revenue Department — Chairperson;

(b) The Principal Secretary to Government, Law, Justice and Human rights Department — Member;

(c) The Additional / Joint Secretary to Government, Revenue Department (Land Revenue) — Convener.

8. Procedure for Selection.- (1) The process of selection shall be initiated by the State Government at least six months before the expected date of occurrence of a vacancy.

(2) If a vacancy arises due to completion of term, resignation, death, or creation of a new post, the process shall be initiated immediately after the vacancy occurs.

(3) The advertisement of a vacancy inviting applications for the posts from eligible candidates shall be published in leading newspapers and circulated in such other manner as the State Government may deem appropriate.

(4) After scrutiny of the applications, a list of eligible candidates shall be placed before the Selection Committee.

(5) The Selection Committee shall consider all applications and may, if it deems fit, short-list the candidates as per criteria determined by it.

(6) The Selection Committee shall recommend a panel of names in order of merit for the consideration of the State Government.

(7) The State Government shall verify or cause to be verified the antecedents and credentials of the candidates recommended before making appointments.

9. Withdrawal or termination of appointment.- The State Government may withdraw or terminate the appointment of any Judicial or Revenue Member if such Member is found guilty of misconduct, incapacity, or acts prejudicial to the interest or independence of the Special Court.

10. Tenure.- (1) The Judicial and Revenue Members shall hold office for a term of three years or until they attain the prescribed age limit, whichever is earlier.R.N.I. No. KARBIL/2001/47147 POSTAL REGN. No. RNP/KA/BGS/2202/2017-19 Licensed to post without prepayment WPP No. 297 5

(2) A Judicial or Revenue Member shall not ordinarily be eligible for re- appointment, however, he may be re-appointed for such further term as the Government may decide, within the overall age limit of sixty five years.

11. Interpretation.- If any question arises as to the interpretation of any of the provisions of these rules, it shall be referred to the Revenue Department whose decision thereon shall be final.

By order in the name of the Governor of Karnataka (RAJENDER KUMAR KATARIA) Additional Chief Secretary to Government, Revenue Department [ ಮುದ(cid:206)ಕರು (cid:178)ಾಗೂ ಪ(cid:206)(cid:144)ಾಶಕರು:- ಸಂಕಲ(cid:163)ಾ(cid:297)(cid:144)ಾ(cid:312)ಗಳ(cid:133), ಕ(cid:163)ಾ(cid:143)ಟಕ (cid:170)ಾಜ(cid:205)ಪತ(cid:206), ಸ(cid:144)ಾ(cid:143)(cid:312) (cid:144)ೇಂದ(cid:206) ಮುದ(cid:206)(cid:158)ಾಲಯ, (cid:166)ೆಂಗಳ(cid:136)ರು