HC restrains HYDRAA from coercive action in Bahadurguda lands case

The Telangana High Court restrained HYDRAA and Revenue officials from demolishing or dispossessing farmers from their patta lands in Shamshabad’s Bahadurguda village, after allegations of forcible entry and demolition without notice.

Hyderabad: Justice B. Vijay Sen Reddy of the Telangana High Court on Monday restrained HYDRAA and the Revenue authorities from taking any coercive steps, including demolition, in respect of agricultural lands in Bahadurguda village of Shamshabad Mandal.

The interim order was passed in a writ petition moved by way of a lunch motion by the farmers, who alleged that officials of HYDRAA and the Revenue Department attempted to dispossess them from their patta lands without issuing any prior notice or following due process. 

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Appearing for the petitioners, Senior Advocate V. Raghunath, submitted that the petitioners had purchased the lands through registered sale deeds in the 1990s and have been in continuous possession, cultivating the lands ever since. 

He alleged that officials, accompanied by a large police force, entered the village on the morning of July 18 with JCBs and demolished the petitioners’ gate and fencing without any notice. Counsel contended that such high-handed action was wholly contrary to the rule of law. 

The Advocate General submitted that the State’s action was confined to government land in Survey Nos. 28 and 62 and that the petitioners’ claim over Survey Nos. 3 and 5 required verification with the latest revenue records. After considering the rival submissions and the material placed on record, including photographs showing cultivation of the land, Justice Vijay Sen Reddy directed the authorities not to take any coercive action or demolish any structures in the petitioners’ lands in Survey Nos. 3 and 5 until further orders. 

The Court clarified that the interim order would not prevent the State from protecting government land, directed the respondents to file their counters and posted the matter to August 11.