HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Monday scrutinised the maintainability of writ petitions filed against several senior IAS and IPS officers in a case related to alleged irregularities in the sale and mutation of Bhoodan lands at Nagaram village in Maheshwaram mandal of Rangareddy district.
The case pertains to survey No 194 and 195 in Nagaram, where allegations have emerged that high-ranking bureaucrats purchased lands allegedly earmarked under the Bhoodan movement — a land donation initiative meant for landless individuals.
Justice K Lakshman, hearing multiple writ petitions, including those filed by Birla Mallesh and Vadthya Ramulu, questioned the legal standing and motive of the petitioners. In particular, the court expressed concern over petitioner Birla Mallesh’s locus standi, seeking clarification on how he is directly concerned with survey No 194 of Nagaram village.
Senior counsels representing the IAS and IPS officers, including P Raghuram and Chandrasen Reddy, pointed out that the petitioner’s mother, Birla Jangamma, had already filed a similar writ petition in 2024, which was duly disposed of. They contended that the current petition is an attempt to reopen settled issues with mala fide intent and to tarnish the reputation of senior government officials.
They further alleged that Birla Mallesh deliberately suppressed this prior litigation and misled the court to obtain interim orders. Initially, the petitioner claimed that survey No 194 was Bhoodan land but later altered his position, stating it was government land.
Justice Lakshman questioned this inconsistency, as well as the petitioner’s efforts to escalate the matter outside the judicial forum — including representations to the prime minister, chief minister and other political authorities.
Standing counsel for the Telangana Bhoodan Yagna Board admitted in court that survey No 194 was never recorded as Bhoodan land, contradicting the petitioner’s primary contention. Supporting this, senior counsels for the officers highlighted a counter affidavit submitted by the Rangareddy collector, which categorically stated that survey No 194 and 195 are classified as patta lands (privately held lands), not Bhoodan land.
The petitioner’s counsel sought two weeks to respond. However, the court denied the request and posted the matter to Tuesday (July 29, 2025) for further hearing.
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In a related writ petition, Vadthya Ramulu sought the constitution of a Commission of Inquiry under Section 3 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952. He alleged that 10 acres and 17 guntas of land he purchased in 1964 from Nawab Mohd Haji Khan had been fraudulently mutated to third parties, including bureaucrats, through collusion between revenue officials and private individuals.
Despite repeated representations to various government bodies, including the offices of the prime minister and chief minister, no action was taken, prompting his legal move. However, Additional Advocate General Terra Rajnikanth Reddy informed the court that the Telangana government had decided not to appoint such a commission, affirming that the decision lies within the executive’s discretion.