A view of the High Court of Karnataka
The High Court of Karnataka on Thursday directed that any contract entered into by the State government or its agencies, with third parties for the proposed tunnel road project, will be subject to the outcome of the hearing on three PIL petitions challenging the legality of the approvals for the project.
The court also made it clear that the government should inform the contractors in writing that the contract would be subject to the final outcome of the petitions.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice K.S. Hemalekha passed the interim order while hearing the petitions filed last year by Adikesavalu Ravindra, Prakash Belawadi, and the Citizens Action Forum, Bengaluru.
The Bench passed the interim order after advocates for the petitioners expressed apprehension about the possibility of work orders being issued.
When the advocates raised certain technical apprehensions on constriction of the tunnels, the Chief Justice orally remarked that it would only examine the procedural or legal lapses in approving the project.
“There is a huge traffic issue in Bengaluru which needs to be addressed. How you do it, whether it’s through a tunnel or not, we are not going to supplement it and express our view,” the Chief Justice orally told the advocates.
BMLTA rules challeged
Meanwhile, the Bench ordered issue of notice to the government on another PIL petition challenging the legality of the newly included Rule 24 of the Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA) Rules, 2025.
It has been contended in the petition, filed by Aravind S., that Section 24, which became operative on July 2, 2026, “deems all urban mobility decisions, plans, operations, and pending proceedings between March 27, 2023, and July 2, 2026, including the proposed tunnel road project and other works estimated over ₹1 lakh crore, to have been construed under the BMLTA Act, 2022 without any of them ever undergoing the independent statutory assessment as mandated under the BMLTA Act”.
Published – July 16, 2026 08:43 pm IST
