Telangana High Court uncovers forged court orders in Shamshabad land scam, orders SIT probe

The Telangana High Court exposed a major forgery scandal involving fake court orders in a high-value land dispute in Shamshabad. Noting repeated attempts to mislead the judiciary, the Court ordered a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the fraud

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has take a serious note of attempts to defraud the judiciary by producing fabricated and forged court orders in high-stakes land disputes involving prime land in Shamshabad.The Court has directed the State Government to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter thoroughly.

A Division Bench comprising Justice Tadakamalla Vinod Kumar and Justice P. Sree Sudha was hearing a Civil Miscellaneous Petition concerning land survey numbers 661 to 664 and 720 to 732 and 775 at Shamshabad and Paigah Village, Shamshabad Mandal, Ranga Reddy District. The dispute is between the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) and private parties, centering around approximately 180 acres of land acquired by the erstwhile HUDA in the 1990s.

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According to the HMDA, the Supreme Court had already addressed compensation issues in 2009. However, private parties recently approached the court claiming ownership over 14 acres, relying on purported orders from the then High Court in 1988 that allegedly set aside the acquisition.

Justice T. Vinod Kumar, while scrutinizing the documents, identified glaring inconsistencies. The orders, claimed to have been passed by Justice N.D. Patnaik on April 29, 1988, were determined to be fabricated, as Justice Patnaik was only elevated to the bench on December 28, 1988.

Justice Vinod Kumar, who began his practice in 1988, recalled the timeline, helping uncover the fraud. Further, private parties also submitted a second forged document an order supposedly issued in W.P. No.28734 of 1996 by Justice B. Sudershan Reddy in 1997. Upon verification, the Registrar (Judicial) reported that the last writ petition registered in 1996 was numbered 28715, and the referenced petition was neither listed nor existed on the claimed date.

This is the third such incident involving forged orders in relation to the Shamshabad lands uncovered in recent times. Taking serious cognizance, Justice Vinod Kumar directed the Registrar (Judicial-I) to lodge a formal complaint with the Charminar Police Station on the previous two occasions and ensure a detailed investigation is carried out.

However, expressing dissatisfaction over the Charminar police for not showing any progress in those two cases, the bench has directed the state government to constitute a special investigation team to investigate the matter in the present case. Further the Registry was directed to issue a circular to judicial officers and relevant authorities instructing them not to act upon the fabricated orders if cited in other proceedings.

Public display of these findings on the High Court website to alert the general public and prevent misuse is one of the directions. The bench further ordered status quo on the disputed land to prevent any further alienation or activity.