Hyderabad: The Hyderabad High Court on Thursday directed the Telangana state government to file a counter-affidavit on a plea seeking to declare the action of the revenue authorities in conducting preliminary land surveys without issuing notices or notifications under the Land Acquisition Act 2013 as illegal.
Justice A. Rajashekar Reddy was dealing with a petition by Mr Urakonda Ramudu and 18 other farmers of Sathapur village, Peddakothapally mandal of Mahbubnagar district, alleging that revenue authorities were entering their land forcibly at the behest of a private firm, Jaypee Associates Company Pvt Ltd, which had bagged contracts works for the Palamuru-Ranga Reddy Lift Irrigation project.
They alleged that representatives of the firm were pressurising them to give away their land under GO MS No. 123 so that the company could begin work on their lands.
When the judge sought the reaction of counsel for the state, he submitted that the authorities were not pressurising the farmers and that the survey was carried out in accordance with Section 12 of the Act 2013, which empowered the government to carry out preliminary surveys.
Mr N.S. Arjun Kumar, counsel for the petitioners, pointed out that the relevant section of the Act would be applicable only after the government issued a preliminary notification under Section 11 of the Act. Justice Rajashekar Reddy directed the government to file a counter and posted the matter to September 15 for further hearing.
Did not face any threat: Akbaruddin Owaisi
MIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi told a court on Thursday that a month prior to being shot at in 2011, he had fired eight rounds from his licen-sed 0.22 Beretta pistol in practice at his farmhouse.
During cross examination, Mr Owaisi said that he had one pistol and did not possess a revolver. He said he had told the police that he had licences for three weapons and carried the Beretta. The other two weapons were a 12-bore double-barrel gun and a Springfield rifle.
He said he purchased ammunition from the Royal Armory at Lakdikapul but did not remember the quantity. The details were with the Banjara Hills police. He said he was not aware that he had to inform the police regarding the use of ammunition.
He said he did not remember the number of bullets permitted to him as he possessed three weapons. He said that he did not have personal security cover when he was shot at in 2011. He faced no personal threats; being in the politics for a long time, he had good relations with political parties.
