Telangana High Court raps Karimnagar Municipal Commissioner for withholding building permits

Hyderabad: Justice K Lakshman of the Telangana High Court on Tuesday expressed strong displeasure towards Karimnagar Municipal Commissioner for allegedly withholding building permits based solely on the word of a corporator.

The court was hearing a contempt case filed by B Veena Reddy against Municipal Commissioner Chahat Bajpai, for deliberate and willful disobedience of the court’s earlier order passed on November 28, 2024.

During the hearing, Justice Lakshman questioned the authority of a corporator to dictate the approval or rejection of building permits. He sternly remarked, “Can you deny construction permission simply because a corporator said so?” The High Court had summoned the Karimnagar Municipal Commissioner to appear before the Court to explain the reasons for the alleged non-compliance with its earlier directives.

The court found the explanation provided by the Commissioner unsatisfactory. In response, Justice Lakshman issued interim orders directing the authorities to conduct a thorough survey of the land in question to ascertain whether any part of it belongs to the government.

The High Court further instructed that once the survey is completed and if no government land encroachment is found, the municipal authorities should grant the necessary building permissions to the petitioner. The matter has been adjourned for further hearing after the court’s upcoming vacation.