HYDERABAD: A division bench of the Telangana High Court, in a crucial verdict, has asserted that the Lokayukta’s powers under the Telangana Lokayukta Act, 1983, did not extend to the issuance of an order to the revenue divisional officer (RDO), Husnabad.
The ruling, which was pronounced deemed the Lokayukta’s order, issued on September 6, 2021, was devoid of jurisdiction and consequently quashed it. The case stemmed from a writ petition filed by Savanapalli Kanakaiah and three other residents of Dacharam village in Siddipet district. The petitioners challenged the validity of the order passed by the Lokayukta.
In this order, the Lokayukta had directed the Husnabad RDO to initiate recovery proceedings against individuals who had received compensation erroneously for land acquisition in and deposit the recovered amounts in the court, so that the amount could be distributed to the appropriate beneficiaries.
During the court proceedings, the counsel for impleaded petitioner Gundaram Balavva, a resident of Dacharam, acknowledged that the Lokayukta’s order did not fall within the purview of the Telangana Lokayukta Act, 1983. In light of these observations, the high court ruled in favour of the writ petitioners and quashed the Lokayukta’s order.