Telangana HC orders status quo on registration of 15 acres in Nalgonda 22-A land dispute
Hyderabad : Telangana high court on Tuesday directed maintenance of status quo on a single judge’s order that had allowed registration of 15 acres of land at Chintapally in Nalgonda district, which had been included in the prohibited properties list under Section 22-A of the Registration Act. However, the single judge had held that registration of such lands could not be denied in the absence of the mandatory gazette notification identifying them as prohibited properties under Section 22-A and directed the registration authorities to register the lands. The lands were placed in the prohibited list on the claim that they belonged to the endowments department. The court held that land cannot be included in the prohibited category merely based on internal communication from the endowments department to the revenue department.
The judge also observed that if the lands indeed belonged to the endowments department, the issue should be adjudicated before the endowments tribunal.
Because it has been included in the prohibited list under Section 22-A unless a gazette notification has been issued identifying the property as prohibited from registration, in the Oct 30 order, the single judge held that registration of property cannot be denied solely. The court also held that internal communication between govt departments cannot be the basis for denying registration. Setting aside the refusal orders issued by registration authorities, the single judge directed them to register the disputed lands in Chintapally.
The order was challenged in appeal before a division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice P Sam Koshy and Justice Suddala Chalapathi Rao. After hearing the matter, the bench directed both sides to maintain status quo and adjourned the case for further hearing.