Hyderabad: Justice CV Bhaskar Reddy of the Telangana high court has issued notices to special chief secretary of irrigation department Rahul Bojja, finance secretary K Ramakrishna Rao, Wanaparthy district collector Adarsh Surabhi, and land acquisition officer D Subrahmanyam.
The notices were issued following a contempt case filed by K Jagadeeswar and four others, accusing the officials of wilfully violating a Sept 2024 court order, which directed them to deposit compensation with the court. The officials have been directed to appear before the court on March 28 to explain their failure to comply.
In his ruling, Justice Bhaskar Reddy said that refusing to compensate farmers even 15 years after their land was acquired amounted to an infringement of their right to life and property. The case concerns land acquired for the Priyadarshini Jurala Project in 2009, with the award passed on March 27, 2010.
Although the state filed a special leave petition before the Supreme Court challenging the compensation amount, the court dismissed the appeal on July 10, 2024, and directed the state govt to pay the farmers. Despite the dismissal of the appeal, compensation is yet to be paid.
Justice Bhaskar Reddy said that the authorities’ failure to pay the compensation violated the rights guaranteed under Article 300-A of the Constitution, and infringed upon the rights under Articles 14 and 21.
