Hyderabad: Court seeks HYDRAA chief

Hyderabad: Justice C.V. Bhaskar Reddy of the Telangana High Court on Wednesday directed the Director General of Police (DGP) to ensure the personal appearance of HYDRAA Commissioner A.V. Ranganath and the Cyberabad Police to ensure the appearance of the Shamshabad Tahsildar before the court on Tuesday in a contempt case.

The judge dismissed petitions filed by both officials seeking exemption from personal appearance, observing that the reasons cited by them were not satisfactory.

The court recalled that Form-I notices had been issued to the officials at the previous hearing, directing them to appear personally on November 11.

Mohammad Tajamaluddin alias Moinuddin Khan filed the contempt petition, alleging that the officials had wilfully violated the High Court’s October 23, 2024 order by taking possession of his land in Survey No. 626/2AA of Shamshabad village.

Counsel for the petitioner submitted that the officials had forcibly taken possession of the property without prior notice or following the principles of natural justice. It was further alleged that the existing structure on the land was demolished, a board declaring the property as government land was installed and fencing was erected around it.

In its October 23, 2024 order, the High Court had granted the petitioner liberty to submit an application under Section 22-A(4) of the Registration Act, seeking deletion of the land from the prohibited properties list. The court had directed the concerned officials to examine the documents, pass a reasoned order in accordance with law and communicate the decision to the petitioner.

Alleging non-compliance with these directions, the petitioner approached the High Court through the present contempt proceedings.