In a significant ruling, the Karnataka High Court has clarified that lands once restored under the PTCL Act (1978) cannot be subject to a second round of restoration if re-alienated by the grantee or their legal heirs.
Justice NS Sanjay Gowda, in a recent judgment, dismissed a plea by Rudramma and her children, stating that the PTCL Act cannot be misused to seek repeated restoration of the same property.
The case pertained to land originally granted to Siddappa in 1961 with a 15-year sale restriction. Despite this, he sold it in 1970, and after a chain of transfers, reclaimed the land under the PTCL Act in 1985. He then sold it again within a month.
In 2002, authorities attempted a second restoration under the same Act. However, the High Court ruled that Section 4 of the PTCL Act is intended to address only the first illegal transfer. Repeated invocations of the Act would not be legally tenable and could result in systematic misuse.
The Court highlighted that allowing grantees to repeatedly reclaim and re-sell land would contradict the spirit of the law and create unjust advantages for those engaging in prohibited transfers.
This judgment sets a clear precedent against multiple claims under PTCL for the same land and reinforces the finality of restoration decisions.
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