NEW DELHI: In a relief to Law Minister Sadananda Gowda , the Supreme Court on Friday set aside Karnataka HC’s order quashing allotment of a residential plot to him in Bengaluru in 2006 by the Yeddyurappa government and allowed him to construct his home there.

A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and S A Bobde said there was no violation of law by Gowda and former BJP chief whip and legislator D N Jeevaraj in constructing a five-storey building on the plots allotted to them. It said it is for the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to take action in case of any violation of building laws and the HC had erred in passing the order.

It said the construction cannot be declared illegal merely because of some deviations from the sanctioned plan and also refused to give credence to the allegation that Gowda had used his political influence to get sanction for construction of his house.

“Merely because a building has some deviations from the sanctioned plan, either at the initial stage or later on in the construction, does not necessarily mean that the construction is per se illegal unless the deviations are irremediable, in which event an occupancy certificate or completion certificate will not be granted,” it said and noted that the law minister had demolished a part of the building in conformity with rules.

“In spite of the clout that Gowda may have wielded in Karnataka, his actions relating to the construction of the building on his plot of land do not suggest any abuse … Undoubtedly, there are some deviations in the construction which will surely be taken care of by the BBMP which has categorically stated on affidavit that an occupancy certificate will be given only if the building constructed conforms to the sanctioned plan and the building bye-laws,” it said.

The High Court had in 2012 held that Gowda had done illegal construction on the land in violation of lease agreement and directed the Benagluru Development Authority to quash the allotment. Although the land was allotted for residential purpose but the former CM of Karnataka was accused of using it for commercial purposes.

The apex court, after going through the sanction plan and the lease agreement, came to the conclusion that there was some minor deviation but said it can be easily rectified and there was no need to quash the allotment of around 5,000 sq ft land in south Bengaluru.

“Merely because a building has some deviations from the sanctioned plan, either at the initial stage or later on in the construction, does not necessarily mean that the construction is per se illegal unless the deviations are irremediable, in which event an occupancy certificate or completion certificate will not be granted,” it said.

“BDA is on record to specifically say that there is no violation of the lease-cum-sale agreement and the BBMP is on record to say that there is no violation of the sanctioned plan, except for some deviations. The BBMP is also on record to say that unless the buildings are in conformity with the sanctioned plan and the building regulations, no occupancy certificate will be granted to Gowda and Jeevaraj. The matter should rest at that,” it said.