Sub-registrar, two other officials & firm owner get 6-month jail for disobeying Telangana high court order in land case | Hyderabad News

Hyderabad: Three registration department officials, including a sub-registrar, and the owner of a private infrastructure firm were sentenced to six-month simple imprisonment in a contempt case for wilfully disobeying Telangana high court’s order in a land dispute relating to 10 acres at Bachupally.A bench of Justice K Lakshman and Justice N Tukaramji passed the order recently while disposing of a contempt case against Ch Damodar Rao of ADR Estates Private Limited and the registration department officials.Holding Damodar Rao and the officials, including sub-registrar P Sreenu and joint sub-registrars V Ashok and P Madhu Babu of Quthbullapur, guilty of contempt, the bench imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 each, payable within four weeks.The contempt petition was filed by Chalasani Kalyani Leela, who alleged that the respondents violated high court’s Feb 2, 2023 interim order staying a single judge’s direction concerning the land parcel.The petitioner claimed that despite knowledge of the stay, ADR Estates continued presenting documents relating to the Bachupally land for registration, and the registration officials accepted them. She argued this amounted to deliberate defiance of the court’s order, which prevented any registrations on the said land.The respondents denied contempt. ADR Estates argued there was no injunction restraining alienation of the land and that the stay related only to deletion or endorsement in the Encumbrance Certificate.The registration officials contended they had no clear order restraining registration and were bound to process documents presented to them.Rejecting these arguments, the court found that the respondents had knowledge of the interim order but continued with registrations, making their conduct wilful and deliberate. The court, however, suspended the prison sentence for four weeks, allowing the respondents to appeal the punishment.