Hyderabad: Justice C.V. Bhaskar Reddy of the Telangana High Court issued notices to 76 respondents, including senior IAS and IPS officers, in a writ petition seeking an inquiry into the alleged illegal grabbing of Bhoodan lands in Nagaram village, located in the Maheshwaram mandal of Ranga Reddy district. The petition highlights allegations that high-ranking officials, in collusion with revenue officials, illegally acquired land intended for the landless under the Bhoodan Act.
The case revolves around lands identified under survey numbers 181, 182, 194, and 195, which, according to the petitioner, Birla Mallesh, are vested with the Bhoodan Board as per Section 14 of the Bhoodan Act. Justice Reddy, after hearing the petitioner’s counsel L. Ravichander, directed the Ranga Reddy district collector and sub-registrars of Maheshwaram and L.B. Nagar to immediately include the disputed lands in the list of prohibited properties, preventing any further transactions on them.
Justice Reddy further directed the respondents not to alter, change, or alienate the lands until further orders, emphasizing the public interest in the matter. In view of the serious allegations against senior public officials, the judge ruled that the petitioner should not be allowed to withdraw the writ petition.
Among those named as respondents are prominent IAS officers like Navin Mittal, D. Amoy Kumar, and S. Harish, as well as IPS officers including Ravi Gupta, Mahesh Muralidhar Bhagwat, T. Srinivas Rao, Sowmya Mishra, Swati Lakra, and Tarun Joshi. The spouses of some top officials were also listed among the respondents.
The petitioner has accused the officials of abusing their powers to manipulate revenue records and acquire pattadar passbooks for lands that should have been allotted to the landless or for public/community use, as per the Bhoodan Act’s stipulations. The petitioner has also sought protection under the Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2014.
The court has posted the matter for the next hearing on June 12, 2025.
