HYDERABAD: Taking a very stern view of a litigant’s attempt to mislead the court by suppressing crucial facts, Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka of the Telangana High Court on Tuesday imposed a fine of Rs 1 crore on the petitioner, Venkata Rami Reddy.
The court directed that the amount be deposited with the High Court Legal Services Authority on or before April 10, 2025, failing which the matter would be listed before the court again on April 11, 2025.
In his petition, Venkata Rami Reddy had sought protection from alleged interference with his possession and enjoyment of 9 acres and 11 guntas of prime land in Survey Nos. 310/1 and 310/2 of Kandikal village, Bandlaguda mandal, Hyderabad.
The petitioner named, among others, the engineer-in-chief (Roads and Buildings), the Hyderabad district collector, the Hyderabad revenue divisional officer and the Bandlaguda as respondents.
During the hearing, the Government Pleader for Revenue, Roads, and Buildings, relying on written instructions from the tahsildar, informed the court that a title dispute over the said property was pending between the government and R Prakash, the legal heir of R Venkatesham (deceased), along with five others.
The GP further informed the court that according to Pahani records of 1981-82, the last recorded survey number in the area was 309/5, and Survey Nos. 310/1 and 310/2 did not exist in official records.
Additionally, it was brought to the court’s attention that Venkata Rami Reddy had based his petition on fabricated and bogus documents in an attempt to secure interim orders to alter the status of government land for personal benefit.
Furthermore, the petitioner’s father had filed two writ petitions, both of which were later dismissed as withdrawn on March 9, 2023, and December 20, 2024, respectively. However, these details were not disclosed in the present petition, which the court deemed a clear suppression of facts.
The GP and counsel for the respondents pointed out that during the pendency of the present writ petition, Venkata Rami Reddy had approached both the high court and a civil court and obtained status quo orders.
The court condemned this conduct as an abuse of legal remedies, stating that such actions not only burdened the judicial system but also undermined the integrity of judicial proceedings.
Expressing strong displeasure over the petitioner’s conduct, Justice Bheemapaka dismissed the writ petition with exemplary costs. In his orders, the judge stressed the paramount importance of truth in Indian society, referencing the philosophical and ethical foundations of “Satya” (truth), as enshrined in scriptures and upheld by leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi.
The judge remarked that truth is not merely about factual correctness but encompasses righteousness, authenticity and moral integrity.
“This case depicts a classic example of how a cherished basic value of Indian society, upheld for centuries, was disregarded by the petitioner,” observed Justice Bheemapaka.