Ex-HC judge challenges inclusion of Shamshabad land in prohibited list

The High Court was told that revenue records support the petitioners’ ownership and contradict the land’s inclusion in the prohibited list.

Hyderabad: Former High Court judge Justice Abhinand Kumar Shavili and his brother, Ashok Kumar Shavili, have approached the Telangana High Court challenging the inclusion of their land parcels in the prohibited properties list by revenue authorities.

The petition concerns 4.30 acres of land located in Shamshabad mandal of Rangareddy district. According to the plea, 3.26 acres belong to Justice Abhinand Kumar Shavili, while his brother owns the remaining 1.04 acres.

Petition challenges Collector’s decision

The petitioners challenged proceedings issued by the Rangareddy District Collector on November 6 last year, through which the lands were classified as prohibited properties. They contended that the land was purchased from pattadars in 1980 and has remained in their possession ever since. They also stated that passbooks had been issued in their names, recognising their ownership.

The petition alleged that the authorities wrongly classified the land as assigned land and included it in the prohibited list without any supporting evidence. The petitioners argued that the decision was contrary to existing revenue records, which, according to them, contain the names of the ancestors of the persons who sold the land.

Seeking the quashing of the Collector’s proceedings, the petitioners requested the court to declare the inclusion of the land in the prohibited list as illegal and arbitrary.

Hearing the matter on Monday, Justice NV Shravan Kumar observed that the issue falls within the jurisdiction of the Stamps and Registration Department.

He directed the High Court Registry to place the petition before the appropriate judge dealing with such matters on Tuesday for further consideration.