HC resolves 3-decade-old land dispute; hands over Rs 7,000 cr land parcel to TS

HYDERABAD: Putting to rest the three-decade-old dispute over the land admeasuring 142 acres 39 guntas in survey number 393 and others in Manchirevula village, Rajender Nagar mandal, Ranga Reddy district, a division bench of the Telangana High Court ruled that the said land which has now a market value of around Rs 7,000 crore belonged to the state government.

The bench comprising Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice N. Tukaramji declined the claims of around 45 private persons and general power of attorney (GPA) holders, whose contention was that the said land was allotted to their forefathers in 1950s by the then government of Hyderabad state and the present government could not take away their rights over the lands.

The said land has been in possession of Greyhounds department of the state police, after it was allotted to it in 2006. The division bench set aside the single judge orders dated February 5, 2010, which found that the land belonged to the private parties, as their forefathers were being possession of the lands since 1940s and assignment orders were made in favour of the possessors in 1953 by the government of the erstwhile Hyderabad state. The single judge also observed that, just on the ground that the assignment procedure was completed in 1961, the government cannot contend that the Assignment Rules 1958 were applicable.

The government’s contention was that the assignment pattas were issued in 1961 by the then tahsildar in a fraudulent manner and according to the Assignment Rules of 1958, more than five acres of land shall not be allotted to one person or family and the assigned land was not alienable by way of sale transactions. In this case, around 142 acres of land was allotted to 20 persons, by dividing seven acres per each person. Moreover, the assignees made a GPA agreement for sale of the land. Apart from that, another contention of the state was that the then state government in 1961 issued GO 1122, prohibiting assigning vacant land in Hyderabad city or within 10 miles of its periphery. Manchirevula village falls within the 10 miles radius of Hyderabad.

Dispute over the land rights began in 1994, and the litigation went up to the Supreme Court, which ratified the government’s decision to cancel the assigned pattas. After that, another round of litigation was raised. A High Court single judge accepted the claims of private persons. The government filed an appeal in 2010, which has been pending for the past 12 years. The division bench heard the contentions of both sides on December 21, 2021 and pronounced the judgment on Friday.