HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court has declined to stay the proposed auction of government land at Raidurg in Rangareddy district, observing that the petitioners had failed to establish that any proceedings concerning their alleged rights over the disputed land were pending before the Land Reforms Tribunal (LRT).
The court was hearing a petition filed by Ramadevi of Hyderabad and others, who claimed rights over 11.12 acres in Survey No. 83/1 and 83/Part at Raidurg. They alleged that officials had interfered with the property and removed its boundaries using bulldozers. They also sought a stay on the e-auction scheduled for August 21 and 28.
The petitioners’ counsel sought a week’s deferment of the auction, stating that no bids had been received. The court, however, declined to halt the process.
Senior counsel S Niranjan Reddy and Additional Advocate-General Tera Rajinikanth Reddy, appearing for the state and Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC), submitted that the Supreme Court had already held that questions relating to title and physical possession over the larger 53-acre extent in Survey No. 83 could not be conclusively decided in writ proceedings.
They argued that determining whether the petitioners’ claimed land formed part of the disputed 53 acres or was government land required a physical survey and examination of evidence, which could not be undertaken merely on affidavits and documents under Article 226 of the Constitution.
The state also maintained that the present auction concerned undisputed government land and not the 53-acre parcel involved in the earlier litigation.
Senior counsel J Ramachandra Rao, appearing for the petitioners, argued that the Supreme Court had not declared their sale deeds invalid. He submitted that the petitioners also had a civil court decree supporting their claim of possession and contended that, following the Supreme Court’s judgment, the dispute had returned to the jurisdiction of the LRT.
The bench questioned the petitioners on why they had not approached the LRT after the Supreme Court delivered its judgment on May 7 last year. It sought clarification on whether any proceedings were pending before the tribunal, whether notices had been issued and what steps had been taken to seek reconsideration.
CLARITY SOUGHT ON PLOTS MARKED FOR AUCTION
The Telangana High Court has directed the state government and HMDA to file comprehensive counters on the proposed e-auction of two plots in Survey No. 83/1 at Panmaktha, Raidurg, in Rangareddy district. Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka was hearing a writ petition filed by Dr Ravindranath challenging the TGIIC notification for auction of Plot Nos. P1 and P2. Additional Advocate-General Tera Rajanikanth Reddy said the plots had no connection with the “Heritage Precinct” and contained neither heritage structures nor rock formations.
The government placed layout plans, maps and photographs before the court, contending that the plots were outside the rock formations and the protected 50-metre buffer zone. Senior counsel S Niranjan Reddy, appearing for HMDA, said Survey No. 83/1 covered nearly 478 acres, but maintained that the two plots were away from the rock formations and buffer zone. The matter was posted after two weeks.