HYDERABAD: In a significant ruling, the Telangana High Court on Wednesday ordered the removal of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party office in Nalgonda, which was constructed illegally without prior permission from the Nalgonda Municipality.
The court has given the party 15 days to demolish the structure and directed it to pay ₹1 lakh to the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), Nalgonda, within four weeks as a penalty.
Justice T. Vinod Kumar expressed strong disapproval of the BRS party’s actions, stating that the party, while in power, formulated rules only to blatantly violate them. The court emphasized that the law is applicable equally to both common citizens and political parties. The judge also took the BRS party to task for constructing the office on a one-acre plot of land in Nalgonda without the necessary approvals and then attempting to regularize the building later through the Building Regularisation Scheme (BRS).
The party's counsel faced harsh criticism from the judge for repeatedly seeking an exemption from paying the ₹1 lakh fine. Justice Kumar rejected these requests, highlighting the BRS party’s financial strength as one of the prominent regional parties in the country, and affirmed that the penalty was justified.
The case stems from a writ petition filed by the BRS party, represented by Ramavath Ravinder Kumar, challenging the notice issued by the Municipal Commissioner of Nalgonda on July 20, 2024. The notice ordered the removal of the unauthorized office within 15 days, prompting the party to approach the court.
The BRS party office, built on a one-acre site in Nalgonda village and Mandal, occupies survey numbers 1498 and 1506. Controversy surrounds the land allocation, as the BRS, while in power, had issued Government Orders (G.O. No. 167 dated August 16, 2018, and G.O. No. 66 Revenue (Assn-1) Department dated June 21, 2019) for the land’s use, allegedly in violation of existing regulations.