The Telangana High Court on Monday awarded jail term of two to three months to three State government officials, including a police Sub-Inspector, and a private contractor, in two contempt of court cases.
Justice M.S. Ramchander Rao sentenced Kaleswaram Project Executive Engineer T. Venu and Sub-Inspector of Thoguta police station in Siddipet district to two-month imprisonment for not complying with the HC directions.
The judge also imposed a fine of ₹2,000 each on the two officials.
The judge directed that the punishment be reflected in the service records of the two officials. Some villagers of Thoguta had filed writ petitions in the High Court challenging the government’s move to acquire their land for the Kaleswaram project. The HC had passed a direction not to dispossess the petitioners of their land until they were provided with resettlement and rehabilitation benefits as per the Land Acquisition Act.
The petitioners, in their contempt petition, alleged that the EE tried to acquire their land ignoring the HC direction and the SI supported him in such attempts. The petitioners’ counsel told the HC that the officials did not even file a petition to vacate the stay orders issued by the HC restraining them from acquiring land from the villagers of Thoguta.
In the same case, the judge had passed an order awarding three-month imprisonment to another EE G. Badrinarayana and project manager of a private construction company B. Srinivas Reddy.
The latter’s company was executing some work of the Kaleswaram project. Despite the stay orders issued by the HC, the EE and the project manager tried to dispossess some villagers of their land. Both the EE and project manager were imposed a fine of ₹2,000 each.