Court grants temporary relief for Ponguleti's kin in land case

 Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Tuesday gave relief to family members of Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy, former Khammam MP, in a land litigation case, by ordering authorities not to take any action and maintain the status quo until further orders.

Justice Bollam Vijaysen Reddy of Telangana High Court, dealing with a petition filed by Ponguleti Prasad Reddy (Srinivasa Reddy’s brother), directed the irrigation and revenue departments not to interfere with the property in the guise of a survey.

Prasad Reddy approached the court after authorities issued notice over the family-owned 3,630 square-yard land parcel in survey number 140 of Velugumatla village in Khammam, mentioning that the land was part of the Nagarjunasagar canal project.

He contended that the authorities were trying to dispossess him of the land, on which the family has set up a function hall, SR Gardens.

Reddy also told the court that despite orders from the High Court in April 2023 directing authorities to consider his representation within eight weeks, they failed to do so.

Meanwhile, the government contended that the land was the remnant of the total acquired for the canal project, and it remains patta land.

Prasad Reddy bought part of the land parcel in 2020, while Srinivasa Reddy had done so in 2011, with the rest of the transactions recorded between 1997 and 2018.

The authorities contended that Prasad Reddy had purchased the extra land with an ill intention to grab the canal land and as such, the petitioner cannot claim any rights over the land based on the said registered sale deed.

Justice Reddy issued status quo orders and adjourned the case to August 1.