HYDERABAD: Telangana high court on Tuesday deferred hearing on a batch of petitions challenging the e-auction of an 8.24-acre land parcel in Hakimpet, Banjara Hills, effectively bringing the auction process to a halt.The auction, originally scheduled for June 19, had already been postponed to July 2 by the govt after parties claiming ownership over the land moved the high court.Hearing the petitions, Justice NV Shravan Kumar directed that two advocate commissioners be appointed, one each on behalf of the petitioners and the state govt. “They are directed to inspect the lands and submit a report to the court,” the judge said, adjourning the matter to July 20 for further hearing.The petitioners have sought quashing of the e-auction notification and asked the authorities to conduct a joint survey, demarcate the land and fix its boundaries before proceeding with any auction. They have also sought an interim stay on all further proceedings until disposal of the writ petition.Advocate N Sridhar Reddy has been appointed for the state and Shyamesh Agarwal for the petitioners. Both have been directed to inspect the land on July 4 in the presence of the parties concerned.According to KR Sudarshan Reddy, president of Yamuna Nagar Co-operative Housing Society and Yamuna Nagar Plot Owners Association, the authorities were moving ahead with the auction without first conducting a joint survey and fixing the boundaries between the auctioned land and adjoining lands claimed by the society and its members.The petitioners claim ownership over about 28.27 acres in survey Nos. 102/2 and 102/3 of Hakimpet village, saying individual plot owners had purchased the land from the original pattadar, whose title was later confirmed by the govt, and subsequently formed the housing society.They said boundary disputes involving survey Nos. 102/1, 102/2, 102/3 and adjoining lands remain unresolved. They also alleged that despite earlier directions from the high court restraining interference with possession, the authorities handed over land to HMDA and initiated the auction without issuing notices or conducting a joint survey. The petitioners further alleged that representations made in May, seeking a joint survey and demarcation of boundaries received no effective response.While HMDA maintained that the auction land is govt property in survey No. 102/1 and that it was not interfering with other survey numbers, the society argued that unresolved boundary issues could lead to future disputes and multiple litigations.
