‘Won’t sell or lease’: HMT secures a stay on 430-acre Bengaluru forest land eviction order

4 min readBengaluruUpdated: Jul 30, 2026 02:13 PM IST Karnataka HC granted interim protection to Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) in its legal battle over 430 acres of disputed forest land in North Bengaluru (Image generated using AI).Public sector firm Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) Limited Wednesday assured the Karnataka High Court that it will not sell, lease, or encumber any portion of the 430-acre disputed forest land in North Bengaluru while its legal battle with the state authorities continues. In response, a single-judge bench of Justice Suraj Govindaraj directed the Karnataka Forest Department not to dispossess HMT of the land or act on its June 15 eviction order. The court also restrained HMT from felling any trees on the property.The interim stay follows a petition filed by HMT chal