IPS, IAS officers challenge single judge order on ‘Bhoodan land’
Hyderabad: A group of senior IAS and IPS officers, along with their spouses, approached the Telangana HC Tuesday seeking a stay on a single judge’s order that flagged their residential plots in Nagaram village in Rangareddy district as Bhoodan land.
The officers, who were served notices by the court earlier, argued that the land was lawfully purchased and not part of any Bhoodan endowment, as alleged. It can be recalled, the single judge heard a petition filed by Birla Mallesh of Maheswaram mandal and directed the state authorities to keep the land in survey numbers 181, 182, 194 and 195 under the prohibition list until further orders.
IPS officers Mahesh Bhagwat, Soumya Mishra, Swathi Lakra, Rekha Sharaf, wife of Umesh Sharaff, Tarun Joshi, Renu Goyal, wife of Jitender Goyal, and BK Rahul Hegde, along with Rahul Busireddy, son of former IAS officer and former TGPSC chairman B Janardhan Reddy, filed the pleas questioning the single judge order that termed the land as Bhoodan land.
They contended that this is a ryotwari land which they bought from the rightful owners. Citing an order from the Bhoodan board, they said land in survey number 194 is not being claimed by the board, and they bought land that fell within the purview of this survey number.
Businessman V Goutam Reddy, another recipient of HC notice, also filed an appeal against the single judge order.
The single judge had ordered notices to several officials, including principal secretary of revenue Navin Mittal, Rangareddy district former collector Amoy Kumar and several private persons. While police are already probing into some of the issues pertaining to this land, the HC in its order sought to know the stand of the CBI and ED on the plea of the petitioner seeking a deeper probe into the issue.
The bureaucrats and their spouses said in their pleas that the single judge went beyond the contents of the petition and sought a stay on his order. The case is likely to come up for hearing in a day or two.
The officers, who were served notices by the court earlier, argued that the land was lawfully purchased and not part of any Bhoodan endowment, as alleged. It can be recalled, the single judge heard a petition filed by Birla Mallesh of Maheswaram mandal and directed the state authorities to keep the land in survey numbers 181, 182, 194 and 195 under the prohibition list until further orders.
IPS officers Mahesh Bhagwat, Soumya Mishra, Swathi Lakra, Rekha Sharaf, wife of Umesh Sharaff, Tarun Joshi, Renu Goyal, wife of Jitender Goyal, and BK Rahul Hegde, along with Rahul Busireddy, son of former IAS officer and former TGPSC chairman B Janardhan Reddy, filed the pleas questioning the single judge order that termed the land as Bhoodan land.
They contended that this is a ryotwari land which they bought from the rightful owners. Citing an order from the Bhoodan board, they said land in survey number 194 is not being claimed by the board, and they bought land that fell within the purview of this survey number.
Businessman V Goutam Reddy, another recipient of HC notice, also filed an appeal against the single judge order.
The single judge had ordered notices to several officials, including principal secretary of revenue Navin Mittal, Rangareddy district former collector Amoy Kumar and several private persons. While police are already probing into some of the issues pertaining to this land, the HC in its order sought to know the stand of the CBI and ED on the plea of the petitioner seeking a deeper probe into the issue.
The bureaucrats and their spouses said in their pleas that the single judge went beyond the contents of the petition and sought a stay on his order. The case is likely to come up for hearing in a day or two.
