HYDERABAD: Justice MS Ramachandra Rao of Telangana High Court on Friday imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on Siddipet Collector P Venkatarami Reddy and Revenue Divisional Officer and Market Value Revision Committee chairman Jayachandra Reddy for failing to file a counter affidavit in a contempt case pertaining to acquisition of a farmer’s land for construction of Mallannasagar reservoir.
When the contempt case filed by G Nagaiah, a farmer from Vemulaghat village, came up for hearing, the government counsel appearing for the Collector and RDO urged the court to grant some more time for filing counter affidavit, saying that the Collector is on a foreign tour.
Refusing to consider the government counsel's plea, Justice Ramachandra Rao said that though the Collector is on a foreign tour there are other officials to file a counter affidavit. The judge then imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 first payable to the legal services authority before filing the counter, and adjourned the case hearing.