Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has sentenced two senior officials to two weeks in jail for failing to honour repeated assurances given to a landowner regarding registration of an alternative plot promised in exchange for land acquired under the Musi river beautification project.
The contempt order was issued against Arvind Kumar, who earlier served as Special Chief Secretary of the Municipal Administration Department and HMDA Commissioner, and another officer, Prasoona, who served as the land acquisition officer at the time. Both were found guilty of contempt for not implementing court directions issued in February this year.
The court observed that despite multiple commitments made since 2016 to register a 666.67-square-yard plot as compensation to landowner S. Ram Reddy, the government failed to act. The delay, despite interim orders, prompted the landowner to file a contempt petition.
Justice CV Bhaskar Reddy, delivering the judgment, directed that both officers undergo two weeks of simple imprisonment. An additional condition was imposed: failure to pay a fine of ₹1,000 each would result in a further one-week jail term.
The case concerns a parcel of land acquired from S. Ram Reddy in Uppal Bhagath during land pooling for the Musi beautification project. While a replacement plot was allotted, registration never followed. The High Court had earlier ordered registration within three months, which the state failed to comply with, leading to the contempt ruling.
