Blow for Telangana government as HC halts 6.74 lakh unregistered sale transactions

HYDERABAD:  In a setback to the Telangana government, the High Court on Wednesday directed it not to process applications received after October 29 for the regularisation of unregistered sale transactions (Sada Bainama) as the new Revenue Act came into force on the said date.

The government had received about 6.74 lakh such applications after October 29. A division bench of the HC, however, permitted it to process applications (about 2.26 lakh) received between October 10 and 29, and to call an inquiry into these.

The bench made it clear that the decision taken on such applications are subject to the outcome of a PIL which challenged the GO 112 issued on October 12 for regularising Sada Bainamas under the Telangana Rights in Law and Pattadar Passbook Act, 1971.

The Act has now been repealed. Comprising Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B Vijaysen Reddy, the bench passed this interim order in the PIL filed by Shinde Devidas, a farmer from Nirmal district, who sought to set aside the impugned GO 112.

The petitioner’s counsel, C Naresh Reddy, had earlier submitted that Rule 22 (2) of the Telangana Rights in Land and Pattadar Passbooks Rules, 1989 and Section 5(A) of the Act, 1971 deals with regularisation/ validation of unregistered transactions, i.e., sale of agricultural land parcels through Sada Bainamas (agreements made on white papers

HC tells TS to comply with law

The Telangana government had notified the new Act - Telangana Rights in Land and Pattadar Passbooks Act, 2020 - on October 29 this year, which came into force. Later, the impugned GO was issued under the repealed Act for the regularisation of unregistered sale transactions made before June 2, 2014 and the government had received applications for this purpose, Naresh Reddy pointed out.

Replying to a query from the bench, State Advocate General BS Prasad informed the court that the government had received 2,26,693 applications for regularisation between October 10 and 29, and another 6,74,201 from October 29 to November 10, after the deadline to submit applications was extended. He urged the court to grant two weeks for filing a counter affidavit in the case.

The bench questioned the State as to how it would regularise the subject lands based on the repealed Act. “Whatever the policy implemented by the State, it should comply with the law,” it noted. The bench posted the matter to November 19 for further hearing.