HYDERABAD: Justice B Vijaysen Reddy of the Telangana High Court on Monday came to the rescue of a 98-year-old farmer whose property was recently demolished, directing revenue and police authorities to facilitate the recovery of his belongings from the debris.
Hearing a writ petition filed by MA Shareef, a resident of Ailapur village in Ameenpur mandal of Sangareddy district, the high court instructed the Ameenpur tahsildar and the assistant commissioner of police concerned to extend full cooperation in retrieving household and electronic items buried at the demolition site.
The petitioner alleged that officials, accompanied by police personnel, carried out the demolition at around 4.30 am on Saturday without prior notice. Structures including a two-storey building, a century-old ancestral house, a water tank, compound walls and animal sheds were reportedly razed. CCTV cameras and a DVR system were also said to have been removed during the operation.
Senior counsel for the petitioner contended that the authorities acted in undue haste and failed to provide any reasonable opportunity to salvage belongings, causing significant loss and hardship to the elderly petitioner and his family.
The court also recalled its earlier directions restraining demolition activities by the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) within Hyderabad and other municipal limits, except in cases involving encroachments on water bodies, drains and public roads.
It reiterated that no coercive action in matters such as internal road disputes or compound wall removals should be undertaken without a duly established Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) or statutory framework.