NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the state government’s plea challenging a Telangana High Court verdict in the dispute over 40 acres of land at Lothukunta in Secunderabad, holding that the challenge was filed belatedly.
A bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Deepankar Datta, dismissed the State’s Special Leave Petition (SLP), which was filed with a delay of 219 days.
Lawyers connected with the case told TNIE that the bench also observed that the disputed 40-acre land was private property owned by Shantha Sriram Private Limited.
The order was not immediately available as it had not yet been uploaded on the Supreme Court’s website. A lawyer connected with the case declined to comment further until the order was available.
The dismissal of the SLP relates to the state’s challenge in the long-running dispute over the 40 acres in Survey Nos. 1 and 2 of Lothukunta. The Telangana High Court had earlier dealt with the state’s claim over the land and the rights claimed by Shantha Sriram Private Limited.
The Supreme Court dismissed the SLP as barred by the 219-day delay in filing the challenge. The prescribed limitation period was 90 days.
Following the Supreme Court’s order, the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) said it would consult the state government, legal experts and other stakeholders before deciding its next course of action.
HYDRAA Commissioner AV Ranganath said the agency would discuss the matter with all concerned before taking a decision. He said HYDRAA had maintained from the beginning that a proper survey was needed to establish the facts on the ground.
Ranganath said the dismissal on limitation was a technical issue and that HYDRAA would examine its legal implications before deciding the way forward.
He reiterated that GLR 243, covering 119 acres, needed to be properly demarcated through a scientific survey.
“Once a proper survey is conducted, all the facts will come out,” he said.
The dispute concerns 40 acres in Survey Nos. 1 and 2 of Lothukunta. Ranganath said HYDRAA was not a party to the litigation, which was between the Revenue department and the Hyderabad collector on one side and Shantha Sriram Pvt Ltd on the other.
He said HYDRAA was interested in the matter only to protect government land, which it had fenced in July.
(With inputs from Hyderabad)