Legal Briefs | Telangana HC junks pleas on Group I notification

Hyderabad: Justice Pulla Karthik of the Telangana High Court dismissed a batch of writ petitions challenging the ongoing selection process for Group-I services. The Telangana State Public Services Commission had issued a notification on October 26, 2022, and since then the selection process has been jinxed. The commission cancelled the written examination in October 2022 due to a leakage of question papers. The re-examination held in 2023 was faulted by the High Court for violating the procedure for the conduct of the examination. The commission then issued a fresh notification on February 19 and conducted the written preliminary exam on June 9 last. The present batch of writ pleas raised various issues promptly, complaining that the master key had many errors that were materially affecting the selection process. The petitioners also contended that the commission had acted in excess of its jurisdiction by proceeding to issue a fresh notification when the earlier direction required reconducting the exam. Justice Karthik on a detailed consideration of various facts dismissed the writ petition on merits.

Follow process, HC tells HYDRAA

Justice C.V. Bhaskar Reddy of the Telangana High Court directed the civic authorities, revenue authorities and HYDRAA to strictly follow the procedure against over 50 residents of Phoolbagh and Petlaburg in the threatened action of demolition of their residences for being under the full tank level (FTL) of the Musi river. A. Mahender Singh and 14 others, apprehending the demolition of their residences, pointed out their peaceful possession of the land in question. Counsel for the petitioner detailed the cultural and historical significance of the land gifted to Gududwara Mehar Das ji and Hanuman temple situated in Petlaburj, adjacent to the Hyderabad City Police Transport Organisation. Counsel pointed out that boundaries of the Musi were constructed by the Nizam government and a watch tower known as Petlaburj was constructed on the river banks. The administrators of the Nizam government used to watch the flow of water in the Musi River during the monsoon and also whenever there was heavy rain. The wall starts from the Puranapul Bridge and extends upto the Chaderghat bridge. The boundaries to the Musi River were constructed with stone arches and were visible on either side of the river upto the Chaderghat bridge. The judge recorded that the collector was identifying illegal structures within the Musi river and a high-level committee would discuss or negotiate with the owners of the structures and try to rehabilitate them. It was recorded that there was no immediate threat of demolition in respect of the property and that the authorities would follow due procedure before taking action including demolition of the petitioners' structure, if any.

Farmers seek more compensation

Justice T. Vinod Kumar of the Telangana High Court took on file a writ plea filed by 163 farmers complaining of arbitrary fixation of compensation for the acquisition of patta land in Sangareddy district. M. Narayana Raju and 162 others alleged that the authorities wrongfully acquired their land claiming it to be for public purposes under the National Investment and Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ), without properly following the procedures under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. The petitioners alleged that they were paid an arbitrary compensation of `5.65 lakh per acre, significantly less than the `15 lakh per acre offered to landowners. Counsel for the petitioner argued that the acquisition lacked transparency and fairness. During the hearing, the judge questioned the delay in filing the petition, noting that the petitioners accepted compensation in 2016 without raising a formal protest. The judge remarked that under the 2013 Act, compensation disputes must be addressed at the time of payment, and questioned why the petitioners did not raise the issue through legal avenues, such as Section 64 of the Act, which allows an interested person to request a reference to an authority if they do not accept the award and redressal of compensation disputes. The judge expressed doubt over the case, stating that the petitioners had accepted the payment without objection and had now approached the court after eight years. He suggested that only if a defect in the calculation of compensation was proven, would the court consider intervention. The judge observed that for the patta holder and the non-patta holder assigned land, compensation should be uniform for all. The matter was posted for orders on Monday.

Plea over religion, caste neutrality option

The Telangana High Court will hear a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a direction to allow citizens to exercise their option of choosing social identity status as ‘Non-religious’ and ‘No caste’ in education and employment institutions. A panel comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J. Sreenivas Rao was dealing with a PIL filed by D.V. Ramakrishna Rao and others. The petitioner challenged the existing format which does not permit anyone to opt for their social identity stating as ‘Non-religious’ and ‘No caste’. The petitioner contended that the government failed to consider representation by adding an option to social identity status of Religion and Caste as ‘Non-religious and ‘No caste’ in all walks of life from birth to death including school admission forms, online examination forms of SSC, in school-leaving transfer certificates and all education and employment enrolment forms and also in the Census forms and such other similar forms wherever identity is required. The petitioner alleged that the non-availability of such provision is against the secular spirit of the Constitution, apart from being violative of the Articles of the Constitution. The panel directed the state to submit its reply and posted the matter for further adjudication.