Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has taken a significant step to address a brazen case of fraud involving the creation of fake judicial orders to claim over 100 acres of government land in Shamshabad.
The court directed its registrar to file a First Information Report (FIR) with the Charminar police. This action follows the discovery that a litigant fabricated judicial orders to support their claim.
The High Court also ordered the state government to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the matter thoroughly.
The orders were issued by a division bench comprising Justices T Vinod Kumar and P Sree Sudha on Thursday.
The decision came in response to an appeal by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) against a February 2025 order by a Rangareddy district civil court, which favored Mohammed Taher Khan.
The case involves allegations of fraudulent means used by litigants to acquire government land. According to Additional Advocate General T Rajanikanth Reddy, who argued for HMDA, litigants have been attempting to grab government land totaling 180 acres in Shamshabad.
Land acquired by state in 1990
This land was acquired by the state in 1990.
Reddy highlighted that litigants are using Nizam-era land disputes, specifically CS-7 of 1958 series cases, to justify their claims on state land.
The High Court’s decision was prompted after it opened a sealed report of an internal probe in open court on Thursday.
Probe initiated on March 27
The probe was initiated on March 27 following prima facie evidence of fraud. The report revealed that a judicial order attributed to Justice ND Patnaik was fabricated.
It was found that Justice Patnaik had not been elevated to the bench on the date cited in the order (April 29, 1988). Additionally, another order from a 1996 writ petition cited by the litigant was never registered in the High Court records.
In response to the fraud, the High Court ordered several actions. The registrar was directed to file a fresh FIR with the Charminar police, and the state government was instructed to form a Special Investigation Team to investigate the matter.
The registrar was also tasked with ensuring that all judicial officers are warned not to act upon the fabricated orders.
Furthermore, the details of the fabricated orders are to be displayed on the High Court’s website. The court ordered a status quo in the land case until further investigation is completed.
Two FIRs related to the same land had already been registered with the Charminar police last year, involving other litigants.
