The judge was hearing a writ petition filed by the SPCA which contended that portions of the allotted land were encroached upon —a road laid by the GHMC, and part of the land handed over to private parties who established a hotel.
Hyderabad: Justice Suddala Chalapathi of the Telangana High Court directed the GHMC and the endowments department to remove all encroachments on land allotted to the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Trust, Hyderabad. The judge was hearing a writ petition filed by the SPCA which contended that portions of the allotted land were encroached upon —a road laid by the GHMC, and part of the land handed over to private parties who established a hotel.
Counsel for the petitioner contended that the trust was running a veterinary hospital and goshala without profit on the land. He contended that the endowments authorities passed orders claiming control over the land without issuing notice or following procedure. The judge noted that directions had been issued earlier to the endowments department to explore the feasibility of providing alternative land to the petitioner and that failure would compel the court to take action against the authorities. The judge observing that the land was consistently used for animal welfare purposes and that a private hotel had been allowed to function on a portion of the trust land, held that such encroachments could not be permitted. The judge directed GHMC and endowment authorities to remove all encroachments on the disputed land, protect the premises from further interference, and submit a compliance report.
No interim relief in land dispute case
A two-judge panel of the Telangana High Court refused to grant interim injunction in a title dispute suit for failure to satisfy the ‘triple test’. A panel of Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya and Justice Gadi Praveen Kumar was hearing appeals filed by Murazban Murad Dhanji Shaw Oomrigar, challenging the refusal of interim relief in a suit seeking declaration of title and recovery of possession over a parcel of disputed land at Kokapet, Rangareddy district. The appellant traced the title to a Muntakhab, and registered sale deeds executed in October 1965. The respondents asserted title and possession based on entries in the 1954-55 Khasra Pahani, followed by a continuous chain of registered conveyances from 1979 onwards, statutory permissions, and subsequent construction activity.
The panel noted that the Muntakhab, which formed the foundation of the appellant’s claim, had been declared void by a government memo and that the finding had attained finality in the Supreme Court in 2017. The court held that the sale deeds of 1965 were invalid, as no prior permission of the tahsildar was obtained for transfer of agricultural land as required under Section 47 of the AP (Telangana Area) Tenancy and Agricultural Land Act. Taking note of the completion of construction, grant of occupancy certificate and creation of third-party rights, the panel held that the appellant was not entitled to interim protection. Finding no error in the orders of the trial court, the panel dismissed the appeals while directing expeditious disposal of the suit.
HC directs collector to verify caste certificates
Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka of the Telangana High Court directed the Jayashankar Bhupalpally collector to consider expeditiously representations alleging fraudulent issuance of Backward Class-B caste certificates to persons claimed to belong to the Reddy community. The judge observed that there was no legal impediment preventing the collector from examining and disposing of the complaints, which remained pending without any action.
The judge was dealing with a writ petition filed by Nagula Santhosh, alleging that the unofficial respondents fraudulently secured BC-B certificates under the “Reddy Gandla” category, despite actually belonging to the Reddy caste, which falls under the general category. The petitioner relied on earlier communications from revenue authorities that recommended cancellation of certain caste certificates issued in Mahadevpur Mandal. Per contra, the unofficial respondents placed reliance on historical literature and earlier judicial orders to contend that “Reddy Gandla” constituted a recognised sub-group within the Gandla community. Justice Bheemapaka ruled that the determination of caste status and the power to cancel community certificates vest with the collector under the provisions of the relevant statute, subject to statutory remedies of appeal and review. The judge rejected the contention that the ongoing gram panchayat election process barred consideration of the issue, the judge observed that the writ petition remained limited to administrative inaction on representations alleging fraudulent caste certification.
Student moves HC over OU action
Justice Surepalli Nanda of the Telangana High Court ordered notice to the Osmania University controller of examinations in a writ plea challenging the alleged denial of permission to appear for the V Semester examination of BA-LLB and pending backlog examinations, despite having collected the requisite backlog fees.
The writ petition was filed by Dr Fouzia Nikhath, who contended that although she appeared for the I Semester examination and later completed the IV Semester, she was unable to attend the II and III Semester examinations due to ill-health. She was prevented from writing the V Semester examination on the ground that she had been detained. It was alleged that although the university authorities collected fees for the II and III Semester backlog examinations, no examinations were conducted. The petitioner complained that the impugned action caused serious academic prejudice and adversely affected her right to education. Justice Nanda directed the respondents to obtain instructions in the matter and posted the case for further hearing.
