HYDERABAD: Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka of the Telangana High Court has overturned a 2002 civil court ruling that recognised private claims over government land in Kondapur village, Serilingampally mandal, Rangareddy district. The case involved competing claims over three-acre plots in Survey No. 59, where the plaintiffs sought a declaration of ownership and a permanent injunction.
The plaintiffs told the trial court that their ancestors had acquired the land through auction in 1961 and that pattas had been granted under Rule 9(g) of the Laoni Rules, 1950. They claimed continuous possession and argued, in the alternative, that they had acquired title through adverse possession.
In April 2002, the II Additional Senior Civil Judge, Rangareddy district, decreed in their favour. The state government challenged this decision, contending that the pattas were fabricated and inconsistent with the official format under Laoni Rules. The government further argued that revised assignment rules issued in 1958 and a subsequent ban on land assignment within 10 miles of Hyderabad, brought in through a GO in June 1961, invalidated the alleged pattas.
After hearing both sides, Justice Bheemapaka held that the plaintiffs had failed to discharge the burden of proof. The court pointed to discrepancies in the pattas, including anomalies in dates and references to “temporary” clauses not found in official records.