High Court Orders Arrest of HYDRA Chief for Defying Court Directions Three Times

The Telangana High Court on Monday strongly criticized HYDRA Commissioner A.V. Ranganath for allegedly violating its orders by entering a disputed private property despite repeated judicial directions prohibiting such action. The court initially ordered his arrest for repeatedly defying its instructions but later withdrew the arrest order after a request from the Advocate General. However, it directed the Commissioner to appear personally before the bench, and he complied later in the evening.

The dispute relates to land in Lothkunta, Malkajgiri Mandal, where the State Government and Shantha Sriram Constructions Pvt. Ltd. are engaged in a long-running legal battle. The government had already lost both the civil suit and the first appeal concerning the property. Despite this, the petitioner alleged that HYDRA entered the land for a third time and facilitated the registration of an FIR against the company's representatives, leading to another contempt petition.

Expressing serious concern, the High Court observed that the rule of law must prevail and remarked that if the government was dissatisfied with earlier judgments declaring the land to be private property, it should have challenged them before the Supreme Court instead of allegedly violating court orders. The bench made sharp observations on the Commissioner's conduct, calling it arbitrary and stating that repeated disregard for judicial directions amounted to contempt of court. At the request of the Advocate General, the court granted time for filing an affidavit and adjourned the matter for further hearing on Tuesday.