Over 1,000 people from across Karnataka gathered at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on Thursday, April 30, demanding strict implementation of the Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prohibition of Transfer of Certain Lands) Act 1978, popularly called the PTCL Act.
The PTCL Kayde Bhoomi Vanchithara Horata Samithi, which organised the protest, accused the bureaucracy, especially the lower rungs, and “anti-Dalit systems” in the judiciary of “ruling against constitutional intent.” It also called for action to be taken against corrupt officials that were “destroying the revenue department.”
The PTCL Act prohibits the transfer of lands granted to members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to people who are not from SC and ST communities. It also facilitates restoration of alienated lands to the original grantees.
In a memorandum outlining their demands, the Samiti said, “The landless have fought since 2018, including a 208-day (seven-month) sit-in at Freedom Park, Bengaluru.”
The memorandum said the 2017 Supreme Court ruling in Nekkanti Rama Lakshmi v. the Government of Karnataka was nothing less than a “death warrant” as it allowed their lands to be sold via fake documents created by third parties. This led to lakhs of Dalit families becoming destitutes, it said.
In the Nekkanti Rama Lakshmi case, the Supreme.Court ruled that a 25-year delay in seeking restoration of alienated land was unreasonable, setting a precedent adverse to SC and ST interests.
The memorandum highlighted that the apex court ruling had led to the Congress government amending Section 5(1)C of the PTCL Act in 2023 to remove the limitation period for the restoration of lands, and the amendment was also retrospectively applicable.
However, the Samiti stressed that corrupt officials and the quasi-judicial system continue to pass judgments against the 2023 Amendment and constitutional intent. “Even the courts are now destroying the lives of Dalits by dismissing cases … giving petty reasons, and giving verdicts in favor of Dalits' lands and Baladyas,” said the memorandum.
Highlighting the crucial importance of “questioning this corrupt system,” the memorandum demanded that alienated Dalit lands be returned. They have also set forward 15 demands that had to be met for the struggle to come to an end.
A major demand of the Samiti is appointing lawyers from Karnataka to defend the PTCL law in the Karnataka High Court and the Supreme Court. A petition seeking a review of the Nekkanti Rama Lakshmi case is pending in the Supreme Court. A separate petition challenging the constitutionality of the 2023 amendment to the law is before the Karnataka HC.
The Samiti also demanded that government lawyers be held accountable for being “irresponsible” and failing to issue orders or adequately present the objectives of the 2023 amendment even after 9 months of hearings.
The samiti also demanded that officials stop exempting lands from the act using pretexts like “GMF,” or “Inam,”
The memorandum also called for the government to repeal Section 5(1) D of the PTCL Act, which allows the government to resume land that is found to be null and void after it is granted. The Samiti said the provision was added through the 2023 amendment without the consultation of the activists and to file suo moto cases for land sales violating the act.
It also asked for the government to restore the land to the original grantees or their legal heirs by recreating land documents in cases where documents were missing.
The document also demanded that courts be prevented from passing orders in PTCL cases until the Supreme Court resolves the question of limitation period
The Samiti also demanded an investigation on revenue department officials who were serving in the same office for many years. It accused two officials in Bengaluru South district of abusing power and issuing “illegal” orders despite correct documentation and demanded for their suspension.
Similarly, it called for the suspension of another official in Bengaluru South district for “creating fake land records” as well as two bureaucrats who had been posted in Bengaluru Rural and Kolar districts for ordering land in favor of “land thieves” on petty pretexts.
The memorandum also demanded an investigation into all PTCL orders made during the tenure of a particular official of Bengaluru Rural district and called for the resignation of SC/ST MLAs, MLCs, MPs, and ministers who remained silent and failed to voice support for the PTCL Act.
Finally, it called for issuing a white paper containing complete details and statistics of all lands sanctioned under the PTCL Act and to set up special courts to protect SC/ST lands.
The article was written by a student interning with TNM