Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has dismissed the claim of M/s Goldstone Exports Company Ltd over land admeasuring around 98.10 acres in survey number 172 of Hydernagar village, near Kukatpally in Hyderabad.
While delivering the judgments on applications, which were remanded back to the High Court by the Supreme Court for fresh consideration, Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao and Justice K. Lakshman observed that the claim over the land by Dr P.S. Prasad (of Goldstone) and his wife Indrani Prasad (both representing one of the opposite companies Goldstone Exports and Cyrus Investments Private Ltd, which had challenged each other) had committed the series of frauds and also colluded in disposal of various applications affecting third parties in possession of the land.
Justice Rao directed M/s Goldstone and its representatives to pay `10,000 as costs to each of the petitioners, to whom some of the said lands had been allotted before the year 1947.
The court also declared that Hydernagar village was the jagir land and the total land admeasuring 196.20 acres in survey number 172, is not the matruka property (movable or immovable left by a deceased Muslim) of Khursheed Jah Paigah.
The court declared that the preliminary decree issued on June 28,1963, in CS No. 14 of 1958 as void ab inito, with regards to the lands in Hydernagar village as obtained by practising fraud both on the court as well as on the claim petitioners.
Even before getting claim over the land, MBS Jewellers Ltd (involved party), got loans from Punjab National Bank, Andhra Bank and Indian Overseas Bank by depositing the land papers as security.
It was submitted before the court, by counsels for the claim petitioners, that Goldstone assigned a majority of the land to one Syed Rafiuddin, who later transferred the same to the owner of MBS Jewellers, who in turn obtained the loans.
The petitioners were shuttling from the lower courts to the Supreme Court and later to the High Court, since 1984, when M/s Goldstone Exports filed the petition to modify the order issued by the AP High Court in Application No. 266/1983 in C.S. No.14 of 1958, by substituting its and its representatives names and to direct delivery of possession to them to an extent of half share of 196 acres and.20 guntas in Sy.No.172 of Hydernagar village.
Out of compact land of 1,210 acres in the village, some of the lands were declared as Matruka lands of Paigha in 1963 by the court. However, the specific survey numbers were not mentioned. Fraudulently the survey numbers 145, 163 and 172 were named as Matruka lands by then revenue officers and the receiver appointed by the court.
Soon, land in survey number 172 was registered in other parties M/S Dinshaw Company, which was subsequently renamed as M/s Cyrus Investments Pvt. Ltd became entitled allegedly to 80% of the suit schedule properties.
Actually, some extent of land in the survey number was allotted to 24 ryots in the year 1947, by the Revenue Secretariat of the Nizam. The ryots would have to be treated as protected tenants.
Suppressing the fact that land in survey number 172 was in possession of ryots/pattedars and the reports submitted by the Receiver-cum-Commissioner to that effect that M/sCyrus Investments Pvt Ltd filed Application No.266/1983 before the High Court seeking direction to hand over possession of land admeasuring 196 acres and 20 guntas in Sy.No.172 of Hydernagar to them.
Later Cyrus Investments assigned some of the lands to Goldstone Exports, which filed application for recognition of the said assignment, and another application for substituting the name of it in the place of the assignors and to direct delivery of possession to them of an extent of half share out of 196 acres and 20 guntas, by issuing of warrant of possession executable by the court of the District Judge of Ranga Reddy district.
However, the original ryots also approached the court. Later, the application by Goldstone was dismissed by the single judge in 2004. However, the Division bench dismissed the single judge’s order, and the matter was sent to the Supreme Court.
