SC upholds cancellation of land allotments in Hyderabad to VIP groups

The Supreme Court on Thursday, August 21, dismissed review petitions challenging its earlier verdict that had struck down the 2008 land allotments made by the then government in Hyderabad.

The plots in question were allotted to Members of Parliament (MPs), Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), All India Service officers, judges, armed forces personnel, and journalists.

A bench comprising Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice AG Masih delivered the order, reiterating that there was no ground to interfere with its previous judgment delivered in November last year.

Petitioners’ arguments

The petitioners had argued that although the housing societies purchased the land at rates fixed by the state government, the earlier Supreme Court verdict wrongly considered them as subsidised allotments.

They urged the Court to revisit the case on this ground and sought equitable relief.

After hearing arguments from all sides, the bench concluded that the matter had already been adjudicated upon and that there were no valid reasons to reopen or modify the judgment.

Accordingly, all review petitions were dismissed.