HYDERABAD: Justice K Lakshman of the Telangana High Court on Thursday reserved orders in multiple writ petitions concerning the alleged illegal sale of Bhoodan lands in Nagaram village, Maheshwaram mandal, Rangareddy district. The petitions seek an inquiry into purported irregularities involving officials of the Revenue and Registration departments, including senior bureaucrats.
One of the main petitions was filed by Vadthya Ramulu, who urged the state government to appoint a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the sale of Bhoodan lands to private parties. However, Justice Lakshman questioned the maintainability of the plea and expressed doubts about the utility of such a Commission.
“Suppose the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) is appointed, say a retired SC judge heads it, the report still goes to the government. Ultimately, it is the same officers who will decide what action to take. What happens if the government just places the report in an almirah?” the judge remarked during the hearing.
Despite arguments by counsel Dr J Vijaylaxmi, who maintained that a CoI could uncover irregularities in land record alterations, the judge remained unconvinced. She alleged that names in the original passbooks for 9 acres and 9 guntas in Survey Nos. 194 and 195 had been replaced by that of private individuals in alleged collusion with Revenue officials, and asserted that such findings required government action.
In related matters, Justice Lakshman also reserved orders on two writ petitions filed by Birla Mallesh, who accused Revenue and Registration officials, including senior IAS and IPS officers from both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, of enabling the transfer of 26 acres of government land to private entities. Senior advocate L Ravichander, appearing for the petitioner in one of the cases, sought a detailed probe into what he described as a land scam.
In yet another petition, orders were reserved on interim applications seeking a stay on an earlier order passed by Justice CV Bhasker Reddy. That order had put on hold all further transactions concerning the disputed 26 acres in Survey Nos. 180 and 182 of Nagaram village and directed the CBI to inform the court on whether it would initiate a probe into the matter.