High Court raps HYDRA chief 

Bench recalls arrest order after government's request, directs commissioner to appear in person

Property Pulse

The Telangana High Court on Monday came down heavily on HYDRA Commissioner A.V. Ranganath, initially directing his arrest for allegedly violating its orders by entering a disputed private property despite earlier judicial directions. Following a request from the Advocate General, the court recalled the arrest order, directed the Commissioner to appear in person and adjourned the matter for further hearing.

During the hearing, the bench made strong observations on the Commissioner's conduct, stating that repeatedly disregarding court directions resembled that of a habitual offender. The court said judicial orders must be respected and questioned why the authorities allegedly continued to intervene despite earlier directions.
The case concerns a land dispute involving Survey Nos. 1 and 2 at Lothkunta in Malkajgiri Mandal between the State Government and Shantha Sriram Constructions.

 According to the petitioner, the government had earlier lost both the civil suit and the first appeal relating to the property. Despite those rulings and subsequent High Court directions, HYDRA allegedly entered the land again, resulting in the filing of a contempt petition. The petitioner also alleged that HYDRA facilitated the registration of an FIR against the company's representatives despite the pending dispute. 

During the hearing, the bench questioned the justification for registering the criminal case and observed that even a copy of the FIR had not been furnished to the petitioner. The court observed that if the government was aggrieved by the earlier judgment declaring the land to be private property, it should have challenged the decision before the Supreme Court instead of allegedly acting in violation of the High Court's directions.

It also described the alleged conduct as arbitrary and emphasised that the rule of law must prevail. On a request made by Advocate General A. Sudarshan Reddy, the High Court recalled the arrest order and granted time for filing an affidavit. Commissioner A.V. Ranganath appeared before Justice Jukanti Anil Kumar later in the evening, following which the matter was adjourned to the next day for further hearing.

Court observations

• Lothkunta, Malkajgiri Mandal.
  
• Contempt petition filed against HYDRA.
  
• Court alleges repeated violation of its directions.
  
• Arrest order initially issued, later recalled.
  
• Commissioner directed to appear before the bench.
  
• Matter adjourned for further hearing.