Justice K. Lakshman of the Telangana High Court in a special sitting on Sunday was critical of the seeming urgency in carrying out demolition operations on a Sunday.
Hyderabad: Justice K. Lakshman of the Telangana High Court in a special sitting on Sunday was critical of the seeming urgency in carrying out demolition operations on a Sunday. “What is the hurry,” the judge asked. The judge restrained HYDRAA officials from proceeding with the demolition of properties at Koheda, Abdullapurmet mandal, citing procedural lapses and lack of reasonable opportunity. The judge passed the interim order in a house motion filed by Samreddy Balreddy challenging the legality of a notice issued by HYDRAA on February 7.
The counsel for the petitioner E. Venkata Siddhartha contended that the notice, which demanded submission of title link documents and supporting documents such as pattadar passbooks, granted only a day’s time for compliance, February 8 (Saturday). The counsel further contended that as the case was being heard, demolitions were underway. Taking a serious note of the matter, Justice Lakshman faulted the authorities for acting in such haste and questioned the urgency of issuing a notice on a Friday, calling for a personal hearing the very next day, and proceeding with the demolition on a Sunday. The judge emphasised that due process and reasonable time must be ensured before taking coercive action. The judge accordingly directed HYDRAA not to take any further steps without granting the petitioner a fair opportunity. The court provided a week’s time for the petitioner to submit the necessary documents and cautioned the authorities against issuing notices, conducting hearings, and initiating demolitions in an unreasonably short span—especially on holidays.
