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Synopsis

The Telangana High Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea filed by the Telangana Government and held that the claims of the state government are unacceptable in a 26.16 acres land dispute case between the state government, industrialists, and various Tollywood professionals.

A bench of Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice Surepalli Nanda stated that the government has not been able to show evidence that the land belongs to the government. The High Court clarified that 26.16 acres of land in Khanamet Survey No. 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 12 of Serilingampally Mandal of Rangareddy district belongs to the Tollywood professionals.

The State Government had filed an appeal challenging the judgment passed by the single judge in the land rights dispute. The State Government had claimed that the land in dispute belongs to the State, whereas, Producer D. Ramanaidu, director K. Raghavendra Rao, Govinda Reddy, and others bought 26.16 acres of land in Khanamet.

Earlier, Additional Advocate General J Rama Chandra Rao had alleged that the land in question was never assigned either to the writ petitioners or to their vendors. Files relating to assignments were fraudulently created in connivance with the lower revenue officials. It was argued that the signatures on the documents giving the land to the ex-serviceman did not match the signatures of the then Tehsildar.

Rao sought to quash the single bench judgment stating that the government's modification of records after 15 years was invalid. It was also submitted that the father of the writ petitioner was a Member of Parliament during the period 1999-2004. It was alleged that he had used his influence, whereafter writ petitioner had obtained supplementary sethwar and got names mutated in revenue records and obtained pattadar pass books.

Sriraghuram, the lawyer on behalf of the Tollywood professionals submitted that when they bought the land, no official objected. Furthermore, now the state government's appeal is invalid.

Referring to the allegation of manipulation of record and fraud, the bench noted that there is no allegation by the Government that it is the respondents herein who had resorted to manipulation of record and had created fraudulent documents.

The bench noted, "Supreme Court has time and again sounded a note of caution that mere allegation of fraud or suspicion of fraud is not enough. Fraud must not only be pleaded but must also be demonstrated and established. Mere raising of suspicion would not be adequate to draw any conclusion of fraud.

The bench, after hearing the arguments, refused to interfere with the orders of the single judge that the state government should not interfere in the matter of these lands and should not try to acquire the lands by canceling the sethwar.

Case Title: Chief Commissioner, Land Administration Government of Telangana (previously shown as Andhra Pradesh), Abids, Hyderabad, and others. Vs. P.Govind Reddy and others.