HYDERABAD: The division bench of the Telangana High Court on Tuesday temporarily suspended the six-month imprisonment sentence imposed on M. Ratna Reddy, president of Vishwa Bharati Education Society, in a land-related contempt case.
The bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice N.V. Shravan Kumar was dealing with a contempt appeal filed by Ratna Reddy, challenging a single judge's order sentencing him to imprisonment and penalising him Rs 2,000.
The single judge ordered imprisonment on the grounds that Ratna Reddy violated an undertaking he submitted to the court, promising not to undertake further construction on two guntas, in Survey Nos. 488, 489 and 490, of Manchirevula village in Narsingi municipality of Rangareddy district. The court also sentenced the then-Narsingi municipal commissioner.
For the appeal, senior counsel L. Ravichander, representing Reddy, argued in the court that quasi-criminal proceedings, like contempt, must go by strict proof. But, in the case, the single judge order was based on assumption, the counsel argued.
Ravichander also pointed out that a reading of the single judge order did not mention the state of the building at the time of the undertaking submitted by Ratna Reddy. The senior counsel requested the court to constitute a committee to assess the age of the construction and thereby, ascertain whether the alleged construction was completed before the undertaking was submitted.
Considering the arguments, the bench appointed the head of the department of the Civil Engineering department of JNTU to inspect the site in question and ascertain the age of the structures.
“The inspection is required to be conducted after notice to parties concerned. The report of the HoD, the bench said, would be forwarded to the court in a sealed cover,” the bench observed, suspending the sentence imposed on Ratna Reddy till the report is submitted.
