Now Reading: Telangana HC slams HYDRAA for demolition, begins contempt case
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Telangana HC slams HYDRAA for demolition, begins contempt case
The Telangana High Court on Wednesday initiated suo motu contempt proceedings against HYDRAA Commissioner AV Ranganath for demolishing a compound wall at Malkajgiri despite subsisting court orders protecting the landowners’ possession. Justice…
The Story in Brief
The Telangana High Court on Wednesday initiated suo motu contempt proceedings against HYDRAA Commissioner AV Ranganath for demolishing a compound wall at Malkajgiri despite subsisting court orders protecting the landowners’ possession. Justice NV Shravan Kumar asked whether the agency was running a parallel government. The court noted that demolition had been carried out on July 18 without notice and that the Medchal-Malkajgiri collector and tahsildars told the court they had not authorised the action. HYDRAA informed the court that 30-40 demolitions had been conducted in the area. The court directed the collector to submit a detailed report including all relevant court orders and permissions.
The Indian Opinion
The court’s sharp rebuke is warranted, but the narrative that HYDRAA is a law unto itself misses the larger point. Protecting government land is a legitimate goal, but doing so by ignoring court orders and procedural safeguards sets a dangerous precedent. The real test is whether HYDRAA can produce documentary proof that the demolished wall stood on government land, and whether the commissioner will explain in court why he bypassed the legally mandated process. Numbers will settle this: how many of those 30-40 demolitions were backed by proper revenue records? If none, the parallel government charge sticks.
Sources (2): telanganatoday.com, newindianexpress.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
