India's Karnataka High Court has ruled that the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB, the civic utility managing water and sanitation for Bengaluru) may lay and maintain sewer lines across private properties without formally acquiring the land. The court upheld the relevant provisions of the BWSSB Act, 1964, finding they create a limited right of use rather than a transfer of ownership, and that mandatory land acquisition for every sewer crossing would fragment infrastructure projects and hinder essential civic works. However, the court stressed that the law's compensatory and procedural safeguards must be applied meaningfully, and ordered the BWSSB to assess and pay compensation to the affected landowners for any actual damage caused.