Hyderabad: In a rare and stern move, Telangana high court has imposed a fine of ₹50,000 on the commissioner of Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Monitoring and Protection Agency (HYDRAA) for failing to comply with court directives and missing deadlines to file a counter-affidavit in a long-running land dispute.Justice NV Shravan Kumar’s bench levied the fine on June 8 after the commissioner ignored a conditional order issued on April 8, which had granted a final opportunity to submit the agency’s response in the dispute over a two-acre parcel at Vengalrao Nagar.The bench directed that the fine be paid to the Chief Justice Relief Fund, clarifying that the registry will accept any future counter-affidavits from HYDRAA only after payment. The matter has been adjourned to June 15 for further hearing.Petitioners’ claimsAccording to the petitioners, legal heirs of the late Farhatullah, the land was officially handed over to them on March 15, 2008, following Supreme Court orders, and they have remained in continuous possession since.The court noted that status quo orders had been issued in 2025, restraining HYDRAA and GHMC from interfering with the property or dispossessing the petitioners.However, petitioners alleged that on March 18 this year, HYDRAA officials, accompanied by police, trespassed onto the land, demolished the compound wall, and erected barbed fencing.“They also installed signboards claiming the property belonged to the Housing Board integrated housing scheme as an open layout space, despite the agency reportedly having full knowledge of the Supreme Court’s prior rulings on the land,” the petitioners claimed.In a connected matter, petitioners further alleged official inaction regarding their representations against the coercive occupation of 5,808 square yards within the same survey number.
