Regularisation of unregistered land sale deeds: Telangana HC adjourns plea challenging govt order

Hyderabad: Telangana High Court has adjourned the plea challenging the government order that permitted regularisation of unregistered land sale transactions under the Telangana Rights in Land and Pattadar Passbooks Act, 1971.

A division bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin took up the case filed by Shinde Devidas, a farmer from Nirmal district, who sought suspension of GO Ms. No. 112, issued on October 12, 2020, by the then TRS (BRS) government.

PIL against Regularisation

The petitioner contended that regularising unregistered sale deeds undermines the Registration Act and encourages illegal land transfers. He urged the Court to suspend the GO, under which over 6.74 lakh applications had been filed for regularisation.

In November 2020, the High Court had already directed the State Government not to process applications filed after October 29, 2020.

State Government’s Argument

Advocate General A. Sudershan Reddy, appearing for the State, informed the Court that a vacate stay petition has been filed against the earlier order.

He further pointed out that the present Congress government has enacted the Telangana Bhu Bharati (Records of Rights in Land) Act, 2024 (Act No. 1 of 2025).

Section 6 of this new law, he argued, authorises the government to regularise unregistered sale transactions, particularly benefiting small and marginal farmers in possession of land for over 12 years where transfers took place before June 7, 2014.

The AG also noted that even the 1971 Act contained Section 5, which had similar provisions for regularisation.

Petitioner seeks time

Senior Counsel Prabhakar, appearing for the petitioner, opposed the State’s submissions and said that validating unregistered land sales amounted to bypassing the Registration Act. He requested a week to examine the provisions of the new Act and urged the Court not to pass any orders until then.

Court’s Observations

Chief Justice Singh observed that the petitioner had not challenged the constitutional validity of the 2024 Act. He remarked that legislative authority lends a degree of legitimacy to earlier executive actions, noting that similar provisions already existed in the 1971 law.

The Bench adjourned the matter to August 26, 2025, for further hearing.