On Friday, the Karnataka High Court annulled a 25-year-old land acquisition of 70 acres in Hebbal, Bengaluru, which was intended for Lakeview Tourism Corporation, a company that was not in existence at the time of the acquisition application. The division bench, consisting of Justices DK Singh and Tara Vitatsa Ganju, criticized the swift actions of the state government in facilitating the acquisition, which was based on an almost blank application submitted in June 2000. The court noted that the company, which later became a partnership firm of two real estate developers, had requested the land for an industrial project that never materialized, shifting instead to a residential project. The judges deemed the actions of the state machinery as a gross abuse of power and ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the matter, stating that an impartial investigation could not be expected from state agencies involved in the alleged fraud. Additionally, the court imposed a cost of ₹10 lakh on Lakeview, to be paid to the Army Battle Casualties Welfare Fund within four weeks.