Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Wednesday, August 12, initiated suo motu contempt proceedings against Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) Commissioner AV Ranganath over the demolition of structures at Vani Cooperative Housing Society in Malkajgiri, despite status quo orders that were still in force.
Justice NV Sravan Kumar directed the High Court registry to issue contempt notices to Ranganath, asking him to explain within two weeks why HYDRAA carried out the demolitions without verifying pending court stays or securing instructions from revenue authorities.
The bench was hearing a plea filed by plot owners in the cooperative society, who alleged high-handed action by HYDRAA and revenue officials in demolishing structures, fencing their land and putting up signboards declaring it government property, in violation of status quo orders the High Court had issued in 2022. According to the petitioners, the society had developed the plots, in Survey Numbers 194/1 and 211 of Malkajgiri, under a layout sanctioned by the Secunderabad Cantonment Board in 1990.
The Medchal District Collector and the Tahsildars of Malkajgiri and Tirumalagiri mandals appeared before the court with records, as directed at an earlier hearing. The Collector told the bench that no orders had been issued to HYDRAA to carry out demolitions at the housing society, and said the agency had carried out about 40 demolitions across the district without any such orders.
Appearing for HYDRAA, the agency’s counsel argued that the demolitions followed a mapping exercise conducted under the Revenue Department’s instructions to identify land falling under GLR 243 and 255, categories meant to flag protected government land. The court, however, questioned how this mapping was carried out without any specific orders or instructions from revenue officials, and said unilateral demolitions carried out without proper records could not be treated as valid.
The bench directed the Collector to submit a report detailing where HYDRAA had carried out demolitions in the Medchal Collectorate’s jurisdiction without permission. It also noted that it had received several complaints of the agency disregarding stay orders that predated HYDRAA’s formation, and directed revenue officials to share details of all such pending court cases with the agency. It further suggested that the Principal Secretary of the Revenue Department issue formal guidelines on the matter.
The court ordered its registry to personally deliver Wednesday’s order to the Chief Secretary of the Revenue Department. The matter has been adjourned to August 27.
The contempt notice adds to a mounting list of cases against Ranganath, who, according to recent reports, is facing 63 contempt of court petitions, with the High Court in a separate matter last week asking the state Chief Secretary to remove him from the post over repeated violations of court orders.
