Hyderabad: The Telangana high court on Wednesday granted interim relief to former nominated MLA Elvis Stephenson of the BRS by staying the implementation of GO Ms No. 134, issued on Sept 23, 2026, through which the govt had placed his 1,936-square-yard property at Bhoiguda in Secunderabad under the prohibited category under Section 22A of the Registration Act.Through the same order, the govt had also placed 16 properties belonging to BRS leaders and their relatives in the prohibited category. These included lands linked to former chief minister and BRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), former ministers KT Rama Rao and T Harish Rao, his uncle M Hanumantha Rao, G Jagadishwar Reddy, Pilot Rohith Reddy, Gangula Kamalakar, Palla Rajeshwar Reddy, Joginapalli Ravinder Rao, J Soumya and others.Justice Namavarapu Rajeshwar Rao passed the interim order after hearing Stephenson’s writ petition challenging the state’s decision to include his property in the prohibitory list.The judge made it clear that the relief was confined to Stephenson’s property and would not apply to KCR, his family members, other BRS leaders or any other properties mentioned in the Govt Order (GO).Stephenson had approached the high court, alleging that the state had acted arbitrarily in placing his property on the prohibitory list. He contended that the move was part of a politically motivated exercise aimed at targeting leaders and associates of the BRS, the principal opposition party in Telangana.Stephenson further alleged that the GO referred to land-related issues involving KCR, his family members and associates. He also cited the regularisation of leasehold land linked to him in Secunderabad and questioned the basis for including his property in the prohibitory list.He alleged that the govt was selectively targeting BRS leaders and their associates under the guise of reviewing land issues, and argued that the inclusion of his property restricted his rights over the land without proper justification.Earlier, a Division Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice P Sam Koshy and Justice Suddala Chalapathi Rao had directed the Registry to place the matter before a single judge. Following this, Justice Rajeshwar Rao heard the case and granted limited interim protection to Stephenson’s property.
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