HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Tuesday declined to grant interim relief restraining the sale of nearly 300 acres of land in Kukatpally owned by Gulf Oil Company Limited (GOCL), Hinduja Estates, Squarespace Infra City, Honor Homes and others. It, however, clarified that any sale or transfer during the pendency of the case would be subject to the final outcome of the writ petition.
Justice NV Shravan Kumar passed the order while hearing a petition filed by Boduppal-based businessman Chinthala Srinivas Reddy, who alleged large-scale irregularities in land transactions involving private developers and revenue authorities.
The petitioner contended that part of the land had originally been allotted to GOCL for an industrial or knowledge park, but the land use was later changed, layouts were formed and residential villa plots were sold instead.
He alleged that the state exchequer suffered a loss of about Rs 466 crore due to undervaluation of sale deeds and short payment of stamp duty, and claimed that several transactions executed in 2022 were fraudulent.
Appearing for the petitioner, advocate Pasham Krishna Reddy argued that the land classified as a tank bed had been unlawfully mutated as private property and that forest land was also under threat of encroachment. He submitted that the conversion of over 100 acres violated statutory provisions and that the proposed knowledge park was never established.
Senior advocate D Prakash Reddy, appearing for GOCL, relied on records from 1966 to 1975 to argue that the land had been lawfully acquired or transferred decades ago and that the petitioner could not reopen settled issues after nearly six decades.
Senior advocate L Ravichander, appearing for Honor Homes, sought dismissal of the petition, contending that it lacked bona fides and that any interim order would lend legitimacy to an unsustainable challenge.
Government Pleader Murlidhar Reddy sought time to verify land records dating back to the 1970s.
Granting the state three weeks to file its counter-affidavit with the relevant records, Justice Shravan Kumar reiterated that while there would be no interim stay on transactions, any sale or transfer of the disputed land would remain subject to the final decision in the writ petition.