Telangana HC grants relief to IAS and IPS officers, halts order banning sale of Nagaram lands

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Friday suspended an order that had directed the Ranga Reddy District Collector to place certain lands in Nagaram village under the prohibitory list, bringing relief to a group of senior IAS and IPS officers accused of purchasing disputed Bhoodan lands.

The High Court Division Bench comprising Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya and Justice Gadi Praveen Kumar passed the order while hearing writ appeals filed by senior officers, including Ravi Gupta IPS, Tarun Joshi IPS, Renu Goyal and Dr Gyanmudra, wife of former Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar IAS (Retd).

What is the case about?

The appeals challenged an October 17 interim order by Justice Kunuru Lakshman.

Justice Kunuru Lakshman had earlier refused to vacate an April 24 order by Justice CV Bhaskar Reddy, which directed the collector to prohibit any alteration or modification of lands in Survey Nos. 194 and 195 of Nagaram village, Maheshwaram mandal, Ranga Reddy District, based on allegations that the properties were Bhoodan lands illegally purchased by top officials.

The Division Bench, however, observed that the lands in Survey Nos. 194 and 195 were not Bhoodan lands but Patta lands, citing documentary evidence and affidavits on record.

Case of land fraud

The controversy began when Birla Mallesh, a resident of Maheshwaram mandal, filed a Writ Petition alleging that several senior civil servants and police officers had fraudulently acquired Bhoodan lands through misuse of their official positions.

He sought an inquiry by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Telangana Vigilance Commission, and the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).

In support of his plea, Mallesh accused the officers of forgery, tampering with revenue records, and unlawful transfer of Bhoodan land titles into their names.

Acting on his petition, the High Court had initially directed the District Collector to maintain the status quo and include the contested lands in the prohibitory list pending further examination.

Appeal towards legitimate Patta lands

During Friday’s hearing, senior counsel Niranjan Reddy, representing the appellants, contended that the disputed lands were legitimate Patta lands, not Bhoodan properties.

The counter filed by the Ranga Reddy District Collector on June 10, affirming that the lands in Survey Nos. 194 and 195 were Patta lands. The Enforcement Directorate’s counter filed on June 25, stating its probe found no evidence of Bhoodan status.

The Bhoodan Yagna Board’s declaration that no Bhoodan lands existed in those survey numbers.

The Revenue Divisional Officer’s report confirms the same. Reddy argued that Justice Bhaskar Reddy’s earlier order was issued ex parte and without a complete factual presentation, misleading the single judge into sustaining the interim restriction.

He further submitted that most of the officers involved were either retired or nearing retirement and had invested their lifetime savings to acquire residential plots, emphasising that the accusations linking them to fraudulent purchases were unfounded and defamatory.

The Division Bench noted that prima facie materials placed before it indicated the lands were Patta holdings, not Bhoodan properties.

Accordingly, it decided to suspend the single judge’s interim order pending further examination of the case.

The High Court’s decision provides temporary relief to the senior officers, although the writ petition filed by Birla Mallesh continues to remain under judicial consideration.