HYDERABAD: Taking a serious view of not implementing the earlier court order, Justice MS Ramachandra Rao of Telangana High Court on Friday sentenced the divisional forest officer of Mancherial division and two others to two months of simple imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 each in the case.
The judge passed this order in the contempt case filed by M Mallesh and his wife seeking direction to the authorities concerned to allow them to have possession of their five acres land at Akenapally village in Mancherial district.
They sought to punish the authorities concerned for willful violation of an earlier order of the court. On April 26, 2018, the court, in its order on a plea by petitioners, made it clear that the joint inspection report on the land was deliberately suppressed by forest officials. The court held that it was a patta land and that the petitioners could not be dispossessed. When the order was not implemented the contempt case was filed.
After hearing the case, Justice Ramachandra Rao held that the forest officials had deliberately violated the court order and sentenced DFO D Ramalingam, forest range officer Vijaya Kumar Sahal and in-charge beat officer Satish Kumar to two months’ imprisonment. The judge, however, suspended the order for four weeks to facilitate the officials to avail legal remedies.