Despite a Supreme Court order, occupants delay handing over the 6.4-acre beach road property in Visakhapatnam, prompting legal action and police intervention.
Visakhapatnam: Occupants of a prime land admeasuring 6.4 acres on the Visakhapatnam beach road refused to comply with a Supreme Court order that set an 11 am deadline on Thursday for vacation and handover of the land to its legal owner Om Shanti Ashram.
“At 11 am today, representatives of Shanti Ashram, along with police, approached the property. Two of the respondents, G. Guatam and K Sridevi, were present at the property and they asked us to take delivery of four acres. But it was not a vacant property as stated by the Supreme Court and was occupied with 40 to 50 buses. They also showed another property one km away, which is occupied by a BJP office,'' said Satya Bolisetti, a senior member of the Ashram.
At 2 pm, urban tahsildar came to the site and then respondent G. Gautham came to the site along with advocates and agreed to hand over the vacant position and remove the buses by 4 pm. He said he would report compliance to both police and the tahsildar. But the respondents didn't show up even after 4 pm, he said.
The Supreme Court will hear the proceedings on Friday, Satya said.
It may be recalled that on February 21, the Supreme Court directed all respondents to hand over the possession of the property to Shanti Ashram management at 11 am on February 27. The court made it clear that if the possession is not handed over before deadline, a contempt case will be initiated. Police protection was given to Shanti Ashram representatives and the property.
