HC reserves order in agri. land acquisition for Gajwel Ring Road

Hyderabad: Justice Mummineni Sudheer Kumar of the Telangana High Court on Wednesday reserved orders in a batch of land acquisition cases over petitions filed by K. Ramachandram and other farmers of Gajwel Siddipet district. The petitioners were aggrieved by the acquisition of three acres of their agricultural lands for the construction of a Ring Road by the state government, without following the procedure under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. The counsel for the petitioners contended that the land acquisition officer violated the provisions of the Act, by not calling the petitioners to enter negotiations. He further contended that the landowners should be given alternative land, as done by the government in many other cases. On the other hand, the government pleader argued that the lands to an extent of 187 acres for the construction of Gajwel Ring Road was acquired and 98 per cent of the work of the road was completed, except the land of the petitioners, as there was stay granted by the court. The court directed the government pleader to ascertain the difficulty in entering into negotiations with the petitioners and asked him to obtain instructions in this regard. The case will be next heard on Tuesday.

Security to Errabelli Pradeep restored

Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy of Telangana High Court on Wednesday directed the state government to restore the police security of 2 plus 2 to Errabelli Pradeep, over a petition filed by Pradeep, seeking restoration of his security category. It was contended by the petitioner’s counsel that as the petitioner was a political leader, police security was provided to him since 2016. Without any intimation or notice, the security was withdrawn. The government pleader argued that there was no threat to the life of the petitioner and hence, there was no requirement for police security. The petitioner said that he had recently changed his political party and was a potential contestant from east Warangal. Accepting his contention, the court directed the police to restore his security. The case will be next heard on February 1. The court also said that until further orders, police security should be provided to the petitioner.

HC orders notice to SBI over plaint after NPA settlement

A two-judge bench of the Telangana High Court of Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice N. Tukaramji on Wednesday ordered notice to the State Bank of India in a writ petition challenging the vires of Section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The bench was dealing with a petition filed by Marketing Private Limited, a leading dealer in electronic goods including the dealership of Nokia. The company and its office have been arrayed as accused in a criminal case under Section 420 read with the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The petitioner would contend that it had taken loans from the State Bank of India. Though initially, the loan was for a sum of Rs 80 crore, it was enhanced to Rs 206 crore over a while. When the business took a beating in 2016, the loan was declared as a non-performing asset. In 2021, a one-time settlement (OTS) was arrived at and the bank received the payment, the dealer said, alleging that the bank lodged a complaint despite the same. The CBI, in a one-line certification, stated that the company and its offices were committing the offence. It was contended before the High Court that the CBI was obliged under Section 154 CrPC to automatically register a crime. The petitioner contended that such automation jeopardises Article 21 of life and liberty. The petitioner further contended that the CBI cannot be made to function as a rubber stamp. The petitioner alternatively prayed that the impugned provision is read down, to necessitate an investigating agency to conduct a preliminary enquiry before registering a criminal case.