Hyderabad: The Telangana high court has directed the DGP, Telangana, to inquire whether the Cherlapally police station in the Malkajgiri commissionerate was operating from a private building without lawful authority and to take appropriate action in accordance with law within three months.Justice EV Venugopal passed the order while disposing of a writ petition filed by the building owner, Tirumala Laxmanacharyulu, a purohit, who alleged that the police had illegally occupied his property without his consent. He also expressed apprehension that he could not directly seek eviction as the premises were occupied by the police.The petitioner contended that he had leased his building at EC Nagar, Cherlapally, to the Cherlapally Notified Municipal Industrial Area Services Society; however, the society handed over the premises to the Cherlapally police station without his knowledge or written permission.He further claimed that rent remained unpaid for several months and electricity bills were pending. Despite submitting a representation to the authorities on Feb 27, 2026, seeking eviction of the police from the premises, no action was taken.The govt counsel, however, argued that the petitioner had voluntarily leased the property to the society, which subsequently rented it out to the police station. It was submitted that the society had already cleared the entire rent arrears of ₹2.16 lakh by depositing the amount into the petitioner’s bank account in March 2026, and therefore, the allegation of non-payment no longer survived.After examining the rental agreement, Justice Venugopal observed that the lease had expired and that it specifically prohibited the tenant from subletting the premises without the owner’s written consent.The judge further held that the agreement contained no clause authorising subletting and that the society’s decision to hand over the property to the fourth respondent was contrary to law.Making a specific observation against the police, the court said that the SHO of Cherlapally ought to have verified whether the society had the legal authority to create a sub-tenancy before occupying the premises.Having failed to undertake such verification, the police could not claim any lawful right to continue in occupation.The court observed that the police station’s occupation, based on an unauthorised sublease, was liable to be treated as illegal and unauthorised. It directed the DGP to inquire into the matter and take action in accordance with law, preferably within three months.The court also granted liberty to the petitioner to approach it again if the situation warranted.
