Gulam Ahmed v. The State of Telangana

Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of lndia praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed therewith, the High Court may be pleased to issue Writ or direction preferably Writ of mandamus, declaring the action of the Respondents No. 4 and 5 in trying to dispossess the Petitioner from his assigned land to an extent of Ac. 0-25 guntas in Sy. No. 36 situated at Mathapalle Village, Kondapaka Mandal, Siddipet District vide assignment patta No. A124512018 dated 1010512018 at the behest of Respondent No. 6 without issuing any notice as illegal, arbitrary and violative of principles of natural justice and consequently direct the Respondents No. 4 to 6 not to interfere with the peaceful possessron of the Petitioner in respect of land to an extent of Ac. 0-25 - guntas in Sy No. 36 situated at Mathapalle Village, Kondapaka Mandal, Siddipet District. lA NO: 1 OF 2020 Petition under Section 151 CPC praying that in the circumstances stated rn the affidavit filed in support of the petition, the High Court may be pleased to direct the Respondents No. 4 and 5 not to dispossess the Petitioner from his land to an extent of Ac. O-25 guntas in Sy. No. 36 situated at t\ilathapalle Village, Kondapaka lr,4andal, Siddipet District, pending disposal of the writ petition in the interest of justrce. lA NO: 2 OF 2020 Petition under Sectron 151 CPC praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed in support of the petition, the High Court may be pleased to grant injunction restraining the respondents from interfering with the possession of land to an extent of Ac. 0-25 guntas in Survey No. 36 situated at fi/athapalle Village, Kondapaka [t4andal, Siddipet District pending disposal of the Writ Petition in the interest of justice. Counsel for the Petitioner : SRI M.RAMA RAO Counsel for the Respondents No.1&3 : SRI B.VIJAY KUMAR, AGP . for SRI N.S.ARJUN KUMAR, GP FOR LAND ACQUISITION Counsel for the Respondents No.2&4: SRI H.RAKESH KUMAR, . AGP FOR REVENUE for SRI K.MURALIDHAR REDDY, GP Counsel for the Respondent No.5&6 : -- The Court made the following: ORDER THE HON'BLE SRI .IUSTICE E.V.VENUGOPAL WRIT PETITION No.19924 of 2O2O ORDER: The present writ petition is filed by the petitioner under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. seeking issuance of writ of mandamus declaring thc action of the respondent Nos.4 and 5 in trving to dispossess the petitioner from his assigned land to an extent of Ac.O.25 Gts., in Sy.No.36 situated at Mathapalle Village, Kondapaka Mandai, Siddipet District vide assignment patta No.B/2a5/20la, dated 1O.05.2O18 at the behest of respondent No.6 without issuing any notice as illegal, arbitrary and violative of principles of natural justice and consequently direct the respondent Nos.4 to 6 not to interfere with the peaceful possession of the petitioner in respect of the said land. ' 2. Heard Sri M.Rama Rao, learned counsel for the petitioner, Sri Hingoiekar Rakesh Kumar, learned Assistant Government Pleader appearing on behalf of learned Governrnent Pleader for Revenue Sri K.Muralidhar Reddy and Sri B.Vrjay Kumar, learned Assistant Government Pleader appearing on behalf of Sri N.S.Arjun Kurnar, learned Government Pleader for Land Acquisition.

3. The present Writ Petition is filed aggrieved by the illegal and arbitrary action of respondent Nos.4 and 5 in attempting to dispossess the petitioner from the assigned land stated supra, which -- l)aec 2 of6 was granted to him under Assignment Patta No.B/24512OI8 dated 10- 05-2018, issued in accordance with G.O.Ms.No.840, Revenue (Assignments-l) Departmcnt. Thc said action is being taken at the behest of respondent No.6 and is in blatant violation of the principles of natural justice. 'lhe petitioner has bcen in continuous possession and cultivation of the said land since the date o[ assignment and has duly complied u,ith all conditions stipulated in the patta. The land is currently under cultivation with paddy and dry crops. Despite this, Respondent Nr>.6, rvho is the Village President, with mala fide intent, is attempting to convert the assigned land into a public park, ignoring other available ()overnment lands in the vicinity. Acting on his influence, the revenue authorities have started marking the land and digging pits without issuing any notice or initiating any legal proceedings ancl have thrcatened ttre petitioncr with forcible dispossession. The petitioner has not violated any terms of the assignment. As per the patta conditions, the land is to be used strictly for agricultural purposes, either by the petitioner or his relatives, which is being duly adhered to. No notice has been issued by any competent authority including the Revenue Department, tand Acquisition Officers, or Panchayat Officiais. The arbitrary and high-handed actions of the respondents are jeopardizing the petitioner's right to peaceful possession ancl en_joyment of the assigned land. ',/.. ', 7 l>agc f, ol'6 (a) In light of the above, leamed counsel contends that the attempt by respondent officials to dispossess the petitioner without issuing notice, following due procedure, or affording an opportunity of hearing, is illegal, arbitrary, and violative of the principles of natural justice, as well as Articles 14, 21, and 3OO-A of the Constitution of India. tt is therefore urged that the respondents be restrained from undertaking such coercive and unlawful action. Under these circumstzrnces, thc petitioncr has no other eflicacious alternative remedy but to file the present writ petition seeking to invoke the extraordinary jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of lndia.

4. Pcr contra, the lcarned Assistant Government Ple aders, appearing on behalf of the learned Government Pleader for Revenue and the learncd Government Pleader for Land Acquisition, by fiiing counter alfidavit vehemently opposed the present writ petition mainly contending that the land admeasuring Ac.O.25 guntas in Sy.No.36 of Mathapalle Village, Kondapaka Mandal, is classified as Gairan/Government land, which is vacant and has not been assigned to any individual. It is furthe r submitted that the said land was identified and duly allotted for the establishment of a Palle Prakruthi Vanam (Village Park) and was handed over to the Gram Panchayat after conducting a panchanama on 17.09.202O in the presence of the t- I'age 4 of 6 Tahsildar and Mandal Parishad Development Officer, Kondapaka. The assignment patta purportedlv issued in favour of the petitioner bearing No.B/24512O18, dated 10.O5.2018, is not reflected in the official records, and the cntry at Serial No.245 in the Distribution Register is marked as "POT." Thereforc, the said patta is alleged to be fabricated. The petitioner is not in possession and that the land has never been under cultivation. The. Government of Telangana has undertaken a comprehensive initiative to establish Palle Prakruthi Vanams, Raithu Vedikas, Burial Grounds, and Dumping Yards across all the villages. As part of this program, suitable government lands free from encroachments have been idcntified, including thc land in Sy.No.36 of Mathapalle Village, for the purpose of constructing a viilage park. The allegation of mala f-rde intent on the part of the 6th respondent is denied as'baseless. It is submitted that the land in question being governrnent land earmarked for public purpose, there is no requiremcnt of issuing individual notices under any statute. The development proposed is in larger public interest and due process is being followed. (a) They further submit that as against the fabricated patta submitted by the petitioner, FIR No.3 of 2O2l of Police Station Kuknoorpal$ has been registered on O6.01.2021 for the offences under Sections 42O, 467, 468 and 47 I IPC and the investigation is pending. The petitioner's claim in respect of the subject land is completely false I'agc 5 ol'6 and no land as such has been allotted to thc pctitioner and the patta upon which the petitioner is being relied upon is a fabricated one. The Petitioner has no1 demon strated any legzil injury or infringement of fundamental rights warranting interferencc under Article 226 of the Constitution o[ India. Thcrcfore, the Writ Petition is devoid o[ merir and is iiable to be dismissed.

5. This Court, having heard the learned counsel for the parties and upon perusal of the material available on record, including the copy of the FIR referred to above, is ol the considered opinion that since a crime has been registered pertaining to the alleged fabrication of the patta, which forms the very basis of the petitioner's claim over the subject land and the investigation therein is stated to be pending, the petitioner's claim remains uncertain and cannot be adjudicated at this stage. Any interference at this stage may prejudice or hinder the ongoing investigation and may not be conducive to the interest of justice. In that view of the matter, this Court is not inclined to entertain the present writ petition at this juncture. It is, however, made clear that the petitioner shall be at liberty to avail app.opriate remedies as may be available in law before the competent forum by raising all factual and legal contentions, including the genuineness of the assignment patta, before the appropriate authority or forum, depending upon the outcome of the investigation. It is further directed that the respondents shall not l)agc 6 of6 i - resort to any coercive measures against the petitioner and shall strictly adhere to the due process of [aq, in all further proceedings upon affording an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner.

6. In the result, the writ petition is dismissed. No costs Interlocutory applications, if any pending, shall also stand dismissed. -SD/.T. SRINIVASA REDDY ASSI TANT R EGIST //TRUE COPY// CTION OFFICER To, '1 . One CC to SRI t\,l.RAlVlA RAO, Advocate. [OPUC] 2 Two CCs to GP FOR LAND ACQUISITION, High Court for the State of Telangana. [OUT] Two CCs to GP FOR REVENUE, High Court forthe State of Telangana at Hyderabad. [OUTI 4 Two CD Copies. 'BSK BS HIGH COURT DATED:2910812025 'tHE. SI4 ? 0 JAli 2026 'i, ;l :.. c, O * ORDER WP.No.19924 of 2020 DISMISSING THE WRIT PETITION WITHOUT COSTS \t, \r t?