Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has declared invalid the proceedings issued by the Tahsildar of Serilingampally mandal on February 26, 2008, to take over nine acres of land in survey number 26 of Kancha Gachibowli, Ranga Reddy district, land that falls under the control of the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
State govt officials have no authority to acquire AAI land: Court
The court ruled that state government officials have no authority to acquire land belonging to the AAI without notifying the Union government. Justice NV Shravan Kumar delivered the verdict after hearing a petition filed by AAI in 2008 challenging the Tahsildar’s move to take over the property.
According to case details, the state government had allotted nine acres to the Civil Aviation Department in 1966–67 for establishing a Radio Navigational Aid Centre to support air traffic operations.
However, the original sale deed went missing over time, prompting the ministry to repeatedly request a copy between 1988 and 1991, but the Tahsildar failed to respond. When the matter was brought to the notice of the state government, the Revenue department secretary wrote to the AAI in 1991, asking why the vacant land could not be resumed.
2007 survey
A subsequent survey conducted in 2007 confirmed that the land was still under the control of the Aviation department. Following the inauguration of the Shamshabad Airport, AAI had proposed the construction of 350 residential quarters for its staff on this land, at an estimated cost of Rs 51 crore. However, in 2008, the state government suddenly took possession of the site.
AAI moves HC
AAI then moved to the High Court, challenging the takeover. After examining the arguments, the judge observed that the conduct of state officials was improper and contrary to principles of natural justice.
He noted that all revenue records were with the authorities, yet they failed to produce details about the terms of land allotment or any alleged violations by the Aviation Department. He also stated that denying AAI’s request for time to submit complete documents violated due process.
Holding the Tahsildar’s proceedings invalid, the court ruled that the state’s acquisition of AAI land was unlawful.
