The Supreme Court on Friday permitted the Telangana Government to withdraw the amount submitted in the case whereby the Apex Court dismissed the claims of Gulf Oil Corporation over 540 acres at Kukatpally holding that the land belongs to Udasin Mutt of Husaini Alam under the Endowments Department.

The miscellaneous application was filed for a direction to release the amount where one of the FDR maturity dates is 07.12.2022.

Senior Counsel Parag P Tripathi appearing for Gulf Oil Ltd. sought another four weeks as the review petition filed in October 2022 is still pending before the Supreme Court, to which the bench of Justice BR Gavai and Justice Vikram Nath replied, “Let the amount be released and let the review be pending. The matter was decided on merits, and you know what is likely to be the outcome of a review.”

On September 13, 2022, the bench of Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice Vikram Nath passed an order in favour of the Telangana Government regarding the 540 acres of endowment land located near Kukatpally ‘Y’ Junction. The market value of the land is approximately Rs 15,000 crore. The lands were initially donated to Udasin Mutt by Kamalapathi Baba Sahib in 1313 Fasli (1904). The Mutt is located at Hussaini Alam in the city but it had 540.30 acres of land in Kukatpally ‘Y’ Junction. As per the Muntakab (muslim history), the land was donated to the Udasin Mutt started by the elder son of Guru Nanak by priest Kamalapathi Baba in 1904. In 1961, the land was given on lease to Indian Detonators Ltd, which eventually changed its name to Gulf Oil Corporation Ltd in 2002, for the period of 99 years in four phases in 1964, 1966, 1969, 1978. However, the lease agreement was violated, and real estate activities commenced in the land along with 300 acres of its own land. In order to initiate the said activities, a loan was taken from SBI by mortgaging the leasehold rights thus creating encumbrance over the lease property. Due to lack of care on the part of the lessees, 20 acres of land has been converted into a graveyard. Therefore, the Mutt cancelled the lease to the company.

The Andhra Pradesh Endowments Tribunal, Hyderabad observed that the said land in dispute belongs to the Udasin Mutt in 2011. The verdict was challenged before Andhra Pradesh High Court wherein the court upheld the decision of the Tribunal and directed the company the authorities to evict the company from the land under the provisions of the Telangana Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act, 1987 which was trying to hold with the help of untenable lease deed.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court today refused to entertain a petition for rebuilding religious structures allegedly torn down during the demolition of the Telangana secretariat.

A two judge bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and R. Subhash Reddy while allowing the petitioner to withdraw the petition, said: “It is a misconceived prayer. We can’t allow all this under Art 32.”

The petition filed by advocate Khaja Aijazuddin alleged that two mosques and one temple were damaged during the demolition of the secretariat building.

The petitioner contended that the damage of religious buildings which had existed since a long time amounts to deprivation of citizens’ fundamental rights enshrined under Articles 14, 21, 25 and 26 of the Indian constitution.

The petitioner has further submitted that the state is duty bound to preserve religious structures and to restore them at the place where it existed.

The petition further stated that though the government has come out with a new plan for the construction of the new secretariat building, however nothing has been mentioned about restoration of the temple and mosque damaged during the demolition process.

Read Also: SC’s no to issuing guidelines for payments to kin of healthcare workers who died of COVID-19

The petitioner, thus, urged the court to term the demolition of the religious places as highly unwarranted, illegal and unconstitutional and direct the state to preserve the religious structures in accordance with law.

– India Legal Bureau

The Telangana High Court on Thursday (July 16) directed the state to inform if ethylene gas, used as a catalyst to ripen fruits, is fit for human consumption.

The court also wanted the state to explain the difference between ethylene and ethephon.

For this, the HC impleaded the State Commissioner of Food Safety and the Chief Public Analyst of the State Food Laboratory as necessary parties to the case.

The bench also directed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to file a counter affidavit, informing if ethephon and ethylene gases can be used in ripening of fruits or not.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B Vijaysen Reddy passed this order in a batch of petitions filed by the traders of ethylene sachets. The traders have complained that police harassment has affected their business in the state.

During the course of hearing, the bench said that the authorities concerned have already declared that ethylene sachets are safe since they include natural hormones and act as catalysts to ripen the fruits. It said that even the central authorities have issued guidelines approving the use of ethylene to ripen fruits, hence the HC cannot say it is prohibited.

However, senior counsel S Niranjan Reddy, who is the amicus curiae in the case, in his report, has stated that ethephon, an insecticide, cannot be used for ripening.

– India Legal Bureau

The Supreme Court today (July 17) dismissed a petition against the demolition of the old secretariat building in the State of Telangana.

The bench, comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and MR Shah, was hearing a petition filed by Congress leader T Jeevan Reddy challenging the government’s decision to demolish the old secretariat building in order to construct a new one.

The bench said that the High Court had dealt with the issue in detail and had noted that it would not interfere with the state’s decision. Hence the bench refused to interfere with the High Court’s order.

On June 29, the high court had dismissed a batch of petitions challenging the state’s decision to construct a new secretariat complex by demolishing the existing one.

The petitioners had contended that no material was taken into consideration while taking a decision by the state cabinet on June 18, 2019 to demolish the existing secretariat buildings.

The High Court, however, observed: “We do not find any irregularity in the cabinet decision to demolish the secretariat” and dismissed the five PIL’s.

After the court’s decision, the government began work on the construction of the new secretariat and the demolition of the old secretariat building complex began and the foundation stone for the new one was laid on June 27, 2019.

-India Legal Bureau

The National Green tribunal has ordered that a committee look into the contentious matter of a luxurious farmhouse with a pool built allegedly for Telangana Minister KT Rama Rao in a restricted zone near reservoirs supplying water to Hyderabad.  

The Southern Bench of the tribunal headed by Judicial Member Justice K. Ramakrishnan & Expert Member Sri Saibal Dasgupta on Friday issued notices to the Telangana government and Municipal Administration Minister for allegedly violating a 1996 government order that prohibits any construction in the catchment areas of Himayat Sagar and Osman Sagar reservoirs within a 10 km radius.

The petition, filed by Congress leader Revanth Reddy who sought Rao’s resignation to facilitate fair probe, states the farmhouse has been built in a bioconservation zone near Janwada village of Ranga Reddy district.

The NGT has ordered formation of a fact-finding committee – comprising members from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change, the state irrigation department, the Telangana State Pollution Control Board, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and lake officials – and sought a report within two months.

In March, Reddy had released aerial images of the farmhouse and had alleged that it belongs to Rao even though it is registered in someone else’s name. The images were shot using a drone camera. Afterwards, a case was filed against six people for using drone cameras without permission and the Congress leader was sent to jail for a week.

Read the Order here;

-India Legal Bureau

The Telengana High Court has served notice to the Centre, the Registrar General, Census, Commissioner of Municipal Administration, Telangana and others on a petition seeking cancellation of caste and religion columns in birth certificates.

The petition has been filed by a couple named Swaroopa Ajjpagu and David Ajjpagu submitting that after a child was born to them on on March 23, 2019 at Kothakota in Wanaparthy district, they approached the Munipical Corporation of Kothakota to get the birth certificate of their child. However, they did not fill the religion and caste column of the application form for birth certificate. 

Thereafter the petitioner submitted that since the religion and caste column was not mentioned in the application form, it was rejected by the Municipal authorities. The petitioners further pointed out that their marriage was solemnized without adhering to any traditions of religion or caste and hence they prayed that they be issued birth certificate without mentioning the caste or religion of the Child.

The petitioners have also pointed out that they approached the Municipal Commissioner of Kothakota to request the authorities to process their application form and requesting to accept the application form without caste or religion of the child. But, the municipal authorities instead asked the petitioners to get an order from the Secretariat Department of Municipal Administration. Having no other options the petitioners approached the Court.

The bench comprising of Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice A. Abhishek has posted the matter for next hearing after four weeks.

-India Legal Bureau

The High Court of Telangana on Thursday settled the claim of the oustees who lost their houses owing to the Kondapochamma Sagar reservoir, which is part of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP).

Court directed the oustees to accept compensation as per the amended Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2017.

The direction came from bench comprising of Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice A. Abhishek Reddy, on a petition filed by Mangavva and several other families from Kochchaguttapalli village of Siddipet district who had been displaced from their houses because the land was being acquired for construction of Ananthgiri Reservoir as part of Kaleshwaram mega irrigation project.

The families had alleged that the revenue officials and Police officials took forced consent of the residents to vacate the land and no compensation was paid for the same.  

The bench has further directed the Siddipet District Collector to allow the ousted families to shift to the resettlement colony till May 1.

The bench has listed the matter for next hearing on April 27 for considering petition by persons who lost their lands under the project. 

–India Legal Bureau

The High Court of Telangana has directed the State Police to ensure that no obstruction is caused by YSRC MP Vallabhaneni Balashouri in carrrying out COVID 19 tests by a lab operating in a building owned by him.

The bench was hearing a petition filed by Tenet diagnostics which was closed down by Vallabhaneni Balashouri on April 18 on the pretext of spread of COVID-19 in the locality.

The petitioners submitted that the lab was authorized by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and that only blood samples were tested at the lab with no physical presence of the patients.

The petitioner on being questioned about the possibility of transmission of the virus submitted that the lab follows ICMR standards and all employees use standard personal protective equipment’s.

The bench directing the police to ensure that no obstruction is caused in conducting COVID 19 tests by the petitioner lab said “causing obstruction would attract penal provisions of the Epidemic Diseases Act and Disaster Management Act. The state has the power to take into control any facility to address the present epidemic.”

The matter has been listed for next hearing on July 8.

–India Legal Bureau

A plea has been filed in the form of a letter addressed to the Chief Justice of the High Court of Telangana for the supply of masks, sanitizers, soaps, towel and water at all Paddy Procurement Centres.

The letter has been written by Advocate J Venudhar Reddy informing the Court that around four lakh workers are working at Paddy Procument Centres (PPC) without any mask or sanitizers, posing serious threat of spread of COVID 19 to the adjoining rural areas.

The petitioner has himself witnessed around 100 workers working in PPC at Kannekal Village of Madgulapalli Mandal, Nalgonda district where the workers have been working on the fields without taking any safety precautions.

The State Government has allowed procurement of paddy from farmers in order to meet the needs of essential food commodities amid COVID-19 Lockdown. This has been done to ensure the safety of farmers who can stay back in villages while the government itself is taking the initiative to procure paddy through procurement authorities.

However, the paddy has to undergo a process of drying before handing it over to the government, hence the farmers are engaging workers to dry paddy at PPCs.

-India Legal Bureau