Hyderabad cops arrest businessman in case relating to Banjara Hills land

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad police have booked a case against a businessman M L Agarwal and his followers for allegedly encroaching upon a piece of land on Road No. 12, Banjara Hills, a prime locality, in violation of Supreme Court orders.

The arrest was made on the basis of a complaint lodged by another businessman, Sukumar Reddy, who alleged that M L Agarwal trespassed into land owned by him despite a Supreme Court order binding both parties to maintain status quo.

The complainant alleged that Agrawal took advantage of disruptions to court proceedings due to the Covid-19 situation.

According to Sukumar Reddy, Agarwal has been claiming the title on the basis of an erroneous survey number (129/68, Paiki). The disputed land is in fact situated in survey no. 129/52. The erstwhile government of pre-bifurcation Andhra Pradesh had issued a clarification that survey no. 129/68 (Paiki) was not correct and warned people not to enter into sale agreements citing that number.

Sukumar Reddy said that in 2019 a survey done by the deputy inspector of surveys had established that although land survey no 129/68 exists but is 1.5 km away from survey no 129/50 without any overlap.

The dispute between Sumukar Reddy and Agarwal went to the Supreme Court which directed both parties to maintain status quo till further orders are issued.

He said after the Supreme Court passed its order, principal secretary for municipal administration and urban development Aravind Kumar directed the GHMC commissioner to ensure that there are no violations of the status quo order of the Supreme Court.

espite this being the legal position, Agarwal ventured to trespass into the disputed land and illegally tried to level the land and raise the compound wall, Sukumar Reddy stated in his  complaint to the Banjara Hills police.

Following the complaint, the police have booked a case under Section 447 of the Indian Penal Code (punishment for criminal trespass) and others.