Telangana High Court questions HYDRAA demolition of private property in Kondapur

The Telangana High Court questioned HYDRAA’s demolition of structures on private land in Kondapur, expressing concern over lack of notice, verification and due process. The court said government authorities were misleading the judiciary and ordered detailed counter-affidavits.

By Our Legal Correspondent

Hyderabad: Justice NV Shravan Kumar of the Telangana High Court asserted that constitutional courts cannot be faulted for scrutinising executive actions, observing that government authorities and agencies, rather than private litigants, were misleading the judiciary.

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The Bench made these critical observations while hearing a petition filed by Pemmasani Sudha Rani, who alleged that revenue officials and HYDRAA unlawfully demolished a compound wall and a watchman’s room on her private plot in Survey No. 60 of Kondapur village, Serilingampally Mandal, without notice or due process.

While HYDRAA had previously submitted that it acted on the instructions of the Serilingampally Tahsildar, the official appeared before the Court and categorically denied issuing any directive to demolish structures on the petitioner’s land. The Tahsildar clarified that official communications pertained strictly to government land in Survey No. 59, whereas the petitioner’s property was private patta land located in Survey No. 60.

Questioning the haste and rationale behind HYDRAA’s action, Justice Shravan Kumar asked how the agency concluded that the property belonged to Survey No. 59 without conducting prior verification or a physical survey. The Bench repeatedly inquired whether any notice was issued, why the demolition occurred within three days, whether the District Collector authorised it, or if external pressure had driven the action.

Expressing deep concern over administrative failures and inter-departmental disconnect, Justice Shravan Kumar remarked, “It is a clear case of who is misleading whom… The courts are not misled, the officers are misleading. You cannot talk about the institutions. What are the courts meant for?”

The Judge further commented, “You do whatever you want… You demolish without following the procedure, you do not care about court orders. You either do not check the records from the other side or conduct a survey, and you don’t respect court orders.”

Emphasising that minimum notice and procedure under the Telangana Land Encroachment Act are mandatory even for government land, the judge questioned whether HYDRAA was attempting to run a parallel executive system. Endorsing previous observations made by a coordinate bench regarding HYDRAA’s high-handed operations, the High Court directed all respondent authorities to file detailed counter-affidavits. The Bench ordered the Serilingampally Tahsildar to remain present during every hearing until the final disposal of the writ petition.