Collector’s Note Raises More Questions than Answers

Hyderabad: There appears to be more than meets the eye in the alleged Rs 1,000-crore land scam on the outskirts of Hyderabad, which was highlighted by former minister and BRS leader T. Harish Rao on Tuesday.

An official note issued by Rangareddy district collector C. Narayana Reddy regarding the 170 acres in survey numbers 172 to 183 in Pedda Shapur village of Shamshabad mandal, instead of denying the allegations of the opposition leader, revealed surprising facts. “It linked private parties claiming ownership with the authorities concerned whose orders in favor of the former had caused serious problems in the protection of public property worth hundreds of millions of rupees,” Harish Rao said.

It all started with the order of revenue divisional officer, Rajendranagar, to seize 75 acres of land in survey numbers 172 to 183, which was already in the prohibited list under Section 22A of the Registration Act, on February 24, 2026.

Within three days, the Supreme Court, on a contempt petition alleging that Nawab Mohd Yousufuddin Khan and others owned 94.28 acres of land under the same survey numbers, passed an order to change the names of the petitioners for these lands. Khan and others, in Writ Petition No. 1550 of 2025, accused the revenue authorities of not implementing the earlier orders passed by the Supreme Court.

A perusal of the orders passed by Deccan Chronicle revealed that Justice CV Bhaskar Reddy, while disposing of WP 1550 of 2025, stated that the court would not go into the merits of the case as the state government had mentioned that the land parcel in question formed part of CS 7 of 1958. The Supreme Court asked the revenue authorities to dispose of the declaration submitted by the petitioners by issuing a reasoned order in just eight weeks.

However, while dismissing the contempt petition on February 27, 2026, Justice Bhaskar Reddy directed the collector to change the names of the petitioners. “The government has a proper case to immediately file a review petition against the orders passed in the contempt case, but this has not been done,” a senior revenue official said.

Meanwhile, a company called Omkar Carriers and Movers, claiming to own the same lands, filed WP 10901 of 2026 before another Bench. The court decided to maintain the status quo in the same lands on April 16, 2026.

When the contempt case was taken up again by Justice Bhaskar Reddy on April 20, 2026, GP Revenue brought status quo orders issued in 2026 WP 10901, but the latter maintained the orders based on the contention of Yousufuddin Khan and four others that the lands on which status quo orders were granted were distinct and different from the lands they claimed to own. The judge asked the revenue authorities to exempt the lands under WP 10901 of 2026.

“The government would have preferred to appeal against desecration at least at this stage because there were conflicting orders from two different boards regarding the same lands,” senior sources in the revenue department told Deccan Chronicle.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court extended the status quo orders of 2026 in WP 10901 on April 28, 2026 and the next day, in an apparent change to its earlier orders, Justice Bhaskar Reddy directed the revenue officials to maintain the status quo and not make any changes to the lands in question.

The Collector also mentioned the latest orders in his explanatory note and assured that the government lands will be protected by taking necessary legal action after the summer recess of the Supreme Court.