ORDER :

1. The applicants, who claim to be the owners of the land situated at Survey No.90/1 admeasuring 2 Acres situated at Gachibowli village, Serilingampally Mandal, Ranga Reddy District - Hyderabad, Telangana State (“the subject land”) have preferred this application seeking, inter alia, a direction to the Official Liquidator, the respondent, to surrender and handover peaceful and vacant possession of the subject land to the applicants and also to remove all the boards and fixtures erected over and articles brought at, the subject land by the representatives of the Official Liquidator.

2. Background facts can be stated, in brief, as under:

(a) In Company Petition No.82 of 1988 and connected petitions, by an order dated 21st June, 2007, the Official Liquidator, High Court, came to be appointed as the Liquidator of M/s. Industrial and Agricultural Engineering Company (India) Limited (“I.A.E.C. (India) Ltd.”) with usual powers under the Companies Act, 1956.

(b) The Official Liquidator, according to the applicants, on the strength of false and incorrect information received from M/s. Sripad Deshpande & Co., that the subject land is the property of I.A.E.C. (India) Ltd., the Company in Liquidation, proceeded to take possession of the subject land without verifying any record pertaining to the ownership of the subject land and following the due process under the Companies Act, 1956.

(c) The applicants claim initially the representatives of the Official Liquidator proceeded to take symbolic possession of the subject land vide Minutes of Meeting dated 24th February, 2021 and, subsequently, vide Minutes of Meeting dated 5th July, 2021 actual physical possession of the subject land was purportedly taken and the boards of the Official Liquidator were erected at the subject land, without ascertaining even prima facie title to the subject land only on the basis of the communication of M/s. Shripad Deshpande & Co., whose ill desire to acquire the land was not acceded to by the applicants.

(d) The applicants assert that Mr. Alluru Krishnamaraju son of Alluru Ramaraju was the original holder of the subject land and land bearing Survey Nos.90/2 and 92. The said Alluru Krishnamaraju sold the subject land alongwith Survey Nos.90/2 and 92 to I.A.E.C. (Hyderabad) Pvt. Ltd., by executing a registered Sale Deed dated 1st October, 1962. The applicants assert I.A.E.C. (Hyderabad) Pvt. Ltd. is not the Company in Liquidation. I.A.E.C. (Hyderabad) Pvt. Ltd., in turn, conveyed the subject land to N. Minna Reddy son of N. Narsimha Reddy under an unregistered Sale Deed dated 1st April, 1982. The Deed was executed by Mr. T. K. Shamu, the Managing Director of I.A.E.C. (Hyderabad) Pvt. Ltd. armed with a Board Resolution dated 1st February, 1982.

(e) Post the said purported sale, the said I.A.E.C. (Hyderabad) Pvt. Ltd. amalgamated into I.A.E.C. (India) Ltd., the Company in Liquidation.

(f) On 12th July, 1995, according to the applicants, N. Minna Reddy, their predecessor in title, through Power of Attorney holders K. Nageshwara Rao and Vishnu Vardhan Reddy executed a registered Sale Deed bearing No.8819/1995 in favour of applicant No.1 conveying 1 Acre subject land out of 4 Acres of Survey No.90/1. Likewise, by another registered Sale Deed of even date the said N. Minna Reddy conveyed another parcel of 1 Acre of land out of 4 Acres land bearing Survey No.90/1 in favour of the predecessor of applicant No.2 T. Krishna Murari. Deeds of Rectification were executed on 13th September, 1996 to correct typographical errors in the Sale Deed dated 12th July, 1995.

(g) In the intervening period, the applicants claim, N. Minna Reddy, the predecessor in title of the applicants had filed proceedings under Telangana Rights in Land and Pattadar Passbooks Act, 1971, (“the Telangana Act, 1971”) for regularization and validation of the sale. Under a Certificate dated 21st September, 1994, the Competent Authority after conducting necessary inquiry; recovering the requisite stampduty an