Telangana HC Gives One Last Chance to Govt to Pay Land Oustees

Hyderabad:Justice NV Shravan Kumar of the Telangana High Court came down heavily against the chief finance secretary for an affidavit stating that payment under the Land Acquisition Act would be made “according to the ways and means”. The judge found the wording vague and noted that non-compliance continued despite repeated opportunities. The judge observed that those who lost the land waited decades after acquisition. The judge was hearing a contempt petition filed by Kurva Veeresamma and others alleging willful disobedience of orders dated April 2025 directing the deposit of around Rs 45 million, the decree amount for land purchased within four months. The petitioners alleged that agricultural land in Jogulamba Gadwal district was acquired for the construction of a reservoir under the Jawahar lift irrigation scheme and only Rs 10 crore was paid while the balance remained unpaid. An application was made seeking exemption from personal appearance of the IAS officer, along with a statement that the remaining payment would be made “by means and means”. The judge noted that the affidavit did not specify any date for payment and that the defendants requested time more than once for different reasons without complying with the order. Taking note of the conduct, the judge gave one last opportunity, arranged the appearance of chief secretary Sandeep Kumar Sultana and sent the matter for final hearing on Monday.

HC accepts habeas request regarding detention

A two-judge bench of the Telangana High Court accepted the habeas corpus plea filed on behalf of a prisoner who has been under preventive detention for over eight months under the Telangana Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Smugglers, Dacoits, Drug Offenders, Goondas and Others Act. The panel, comprising Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya and Justice Gadi Praveen Kumar, was dealing with the case filed by Anjum Sultana Kureshi, wife of Muhammad Illyas Kureshi, who was detained under the Act. The petitioner’s counsel submitted that although the arrest warrant was issued in April 2023, it was implemented only in October 2025 and such delay was fatal. It has been argued that if the detainee abuses the bail, the state should request the cancellation of the bail instead of resorting to preventive detention. During the hearing, the panel questioned whether continued criminal activity would disrupt public order, which is the basis for the implementation of the Act, and asked the petitioner to show that the detention was unlawful. The state reported that the prisoner was convicted in seven cases and had 52 cases against him, including offenses related to cattle theft. Having recorded the statements, the committee directed the State to obtain instructions regarding the list of offenses forming the basis for the implementation of the Act and sent the matter for further hearing.

Woman in human trafficking case released on bail

The Telangana High Court granted bail to a woman accused of immoral human trafficking. The judge was dealing with the criminal complaint filed by Bismillah Begum, who was accused of an offense registered with the Kanchanbagh police. The case was brought for criminal offenses under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act 1956. According to the prosecution, acting on credible information regarding the running of a brothel in Hafeezbabanagar, the police conducted a raid on February 18. During the raid, authorities allegedly determined that the defendants were running a prostitution business by procuring women and serving customers. It was stated that two victim women were rescued at the scene and one customer was caught at the scene. The petitioner maintained that the allegations were false and that the petitioner had no role in any immoral trafficking activity. It was alleged that he was falsely implicated in the case and that there was no material to prove his involvement in the alleged crime. The lawyer also stated that the petitioner has been in judicial custody since February and a significant part of the investigation has been completed. The prosecutor argued that the petitioner’s role was clearly evident from the statements of the victim women and other witnesses and that the investigation was ongoing. Considering that the applicant had spent a considerable period of time in custody since the date of the raid and that witness statements had already been recorded, the judge released the applicant on conditional release.