Telangana HC gives collector 3 weeks to pay US-based senior citizen land compensation

Hyderabad: The Telangana high court on Friday hauled up the Yadadri Bhuvanagiri collector, RDO and tahsildar of Turkapally mandal in a contempt petition filed by an octogenarian settled in the US over construction of roads and schools on his property without legally acquiring it and subsequently not paying compensation despite a court order.
“Deposit the compensation within three weeks or appear before the court,” the judge said while dealing with the contempt petition filed by 85-year-old Mohammad Raheemuddin whose two acres in Gopalapur village was taken over by the government without informing them.Justice B Vijaysen Reddy had earlier brushed aside the argument of the state that the sarpanch had bought the land from the petitioner’s father in 1981 after the state failed to furnish any proof despite repeated queries from court.
The contempt plea was filed after the state failed to implement the court order of Aug 16, 2022, directing it to acquire the land and pay compensation. The state counsel tried to convince the court that as per statements of two villagers, who purportedly acted as mediators, the petitioner’s father had sold the land to govt. However, the court rejected the contention and said by any standards mere oral statement cannot be taken as proof of transfer of land.