HYDERABAD: Taking the suggestion that the ED should be directed to conduct a comprehensive probe on record, the Telangana High Court on Thursday ordered a stay on all further transactions related to a parcel of over 26 acres of land in Nagaram village of Maheshwaram mandal.
The land, listed under Survey Nos. 180 and 182, is at the centre of claims involving forged documents, tampering of records and unauthorised dealings.
Justice CV Bhasker Reddy passed the interim order while hearing a writ petition filed by Birla Mahesh. The petitioner alleged that the land, cultivated by his mother for over five decades, was fraudulently reclassified under Survey No. 194 to enable unauthorised transfers. These were allegedly facilitated with the involvement of senior IAS and IPS officers from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, as well as local revenue and registration officials.
According to the petition, the reclassification allowed the land—protected under Section 22-A of the Registration Act as government and Bhoodan land—to be sold to private individuals, including bureaucrats.
Senior counsel L Ravichander, representing the petitioner, detailed a timeline of alleged fraudulent transactions involving forged inheritance claims, illegal pattadar passbooks, and misuse of the Dharani digital land system. Concerns were also raised over the unauthorised issuance of 13-B certificates used to validate unregistered sales (Sada Bainama).
The petitioner stated that despite complaints dating back to November 2024, no action was taken, and instead, he faced harassment through multiple legal notices, including defamation claims demanding up to `1 crore.
Justice Bhasker Reddy noted concerns over the alleged diversion of Bhoodan land meant for the poor. Ravichander urged the court to extend protection to other vulnerable survey numbers not yet included in the plea.
The court issued notices to 26 government officials named in the petition, including Navin Mittal, Mahesh Muralidhar Bhagwat, Aishwarya Rai and Dr Gyanmundra. The matter will be heard further after the summer vacation.