HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Tuesday questioned the conduct of officials over alleged illegal construction on shikam (lakebed) land at Pulluri Ramayyapalli near Bhupalpally.
Justice Anil Kumar Jukanti, hearing petitions filed by former MLA Gandra Venkataramana Reddy, Gandra Jyothi and Gandra Gautam Reddy, expressed displeasure over delays in the probe and the process by which permissions were issued.
The court asked how the collector could authorise construction of a temple on lake bed land and under what law government funds were released for it. The judge directed the government pleader to explain the legal basis for such approvals and questioned why the collector had not been named as an accused despite his involvement.
Noting that nearly two years had passed without a charge sheet, Justice Jukanti asked why the police had not filed even a supplementary one. When the Additional Public Prosecutor said the delay was due to pending documents from officials, the judge asked what the police had done in the meantime.
“Shouldn’t at least a supplementary chargesheet be filed? If it were an ordinary citizen, wouldn’t the police enter the house, conduct searches, and seize documents?” the court observed, warning that if collectors permit construction on lakes, “tomorrow all lakes will disappear.”
In January 2024, Nagavelli Rajalingamurthy lodged a complaint alleging that 2 acres of shikam land had been encroached on for a Venkateswara Swamy temple and a commercial building. The local court directed registration of a case.
The accused later sought to quash the FIR and obtain anticipatory bail. On Tuesday, their counsel Sudhanshu Rao sought to withdraw the petitions to refile them after the chargesheet, but the judge refused, stating that under Section 482 CrPC, the high court could examine the matter at this stage.
The court directed both sides to submit complete details and adjourned the case to November 18.