Telangana Court Settles Decades-Old Land Dispute, Slams Negligent Official

On November 12, 2025, the Telangana High Court delivered a significant ruling in a decades-old land dispute case. The court dismissed a writ appeal filed by a state-appointed competent officer, calling it "completely misconceived, meritless, and tainted with mala fides."

The lands, worth an estimated ₹50 crore today, were originally owned by brothers Nooruddin Hasan and Saifuddin Khalid, who migrated to Pakistan during the 1947 Partition. Their sister, Saleha Fatima, legally purchased the 40-acre property across Raghunathpalli, Jangaon, and Palakurthi. After her death in 1987, her legal heirs sought to have the land records updated, but faced a series of disputes, encroachment attempts, and bureaucratic hurdles.

In 2000, the high court directed the heirs to approach the competent officer under the Evacuee Interest (Separation) Act. However, the officer remained silent for 25 years, despite the family submitting all required documents. The Act was eventually repealed, leaving the heirs in legal limbo.

The high court bench criticized the officer's "absolute lack of commitment and empathy," stating that the "appellant simply does not have any defence to his inaction in hearing the application." The judges said the officer's actions had "frustrated the object of the Act" and "deprived two generations of the claimed owners."

Upholding the earlier costs imposed on the officer and the single judge's strong remarks, the division bench has now directed the officer to dispose of the heirs' application within four weeks.