Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Friday, June 12, imposed a cost of Rs 50,000 on Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Monitoring and Protection Agency (HYDRAA) Commissioner AV Ranganath for failing to comply with its directions in a land dispute case and not filing a counter-affidavit despite being granted several opportunities.
Justice NV Shravan Kumar passed the order after noting that HYDRAA had failed to submit its response within the time stipulated by the court.
The court directed that the amount be deposited in the Chief Justice Relief Fund and said any counter-affidavit filed by HYDRAA would be taken on record only after proof of payment is produced.
The matter has been posted for further hearing on June 15.
Dispute over Vengalrao Nagar land
The case relates to a two-acre parcel of land in Vengalrao Nagar in Hyderabad.
According to the petitioners, who claim to be the legal heirs of late Farhatullah, possession of the land was handed over to them in March 2008 pursuant to orders of the Supreme Court. They contended that they have remained in possession of the property since then.
The petitioners submitted that the High Court had earlier directed both HYDRAA and the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) not to interfere with the land or disturb their possession.
However, they alleged that HYDRAA officials, accompanied by police personnel, entered the property in March this year, demolished a compound wall and erected barbed-wire fencing.
They further claimed that boards were installed on the land indicating that it belonged to a housing scheme despite earlier judicial orders concerning the property. The petitioners also alleged that authorities had failed to act on complaints regarding the purported occupation of a portion of the land.
