Andhra Pradesh HC imposes Rs 14 lakh fine on 14 Ippatam petitioners for misleading court

High Court found fault with the manner in which the petitioners who were villagers of Ippatam village secured an interim stay on demolition of their houses by the municipal authorities

Amaravati: The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh each on 14 petitioners for misleading the court and concealing facts in the Ippatam demolition case.

The High Court found fault with the manner in which the petitioners who were villagers of Ippatam village of Tadepalli mandal of Guntur district secured an interim stay on demolition of their houses by the municipal authorities, by claiming that notices were not issued before taking up the demolition drive.

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While the Tadepalli municipal authorities issued notices on May 21 to some of the house owners in Ippatam for demolishing their houses on encroached land, in order to take up road widening works, the petitioners approached the High Court stating that the municipal authorities had demolished their houses without issuing any notices.

The counsel for the house owners on Wednesday admitted before the High Court that the authorities had issued show cause notices through the post and personally to some of the petitioners.