SupremeToday Landscape Ad
Back
Next
Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation
Listen Audio Icon Pause Audio Icon
judgment-img

2026 Supreme(Online)(Tel) 12004

IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT HYDERABAD
E.V. Venugopal, J
M. Ramakrishna – Appellant
Versus
State of Telangana – Respondent
WRIT PETITION No.2241 of 2025



Advocates:
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Surya Balu Mahendra, V. Srinivasa Rao
For the Respondents: P. Sree Raghu Ram, TH Ramakrushnom, A. Ravinder Reddy, B. Venkateswara Reddy, DV Srinivasa Rao, SVS Prasada Rao, L. Ravinder, K. Muralidhar Reddy

Writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution cannot be utilized to adjudicate complex questions of title or private civil rights that require trial-level evidence; such matters must be resolved before competent civil courts. An order of status quo on revenue entries does not nullify independent administrative statutory actions.

Headnote:(A) Constitution of India - Article 226 - Writ Jurisdiction - Maintainability - Scope of judicial review in matters involving complex title disputes - Writ jurisdiction cannot be invoked to resolve intricate factual disputes regarding ownership, succession, and validity of alienations which are sub judice before civil courts. (Paras 14, 15, 19)

(B) Writ jurisdiction - Status Quo Orders - Scope and Effect - A status quo order typically preserves existing revenue entries rather than creating a blanket prohibition on administrative powers; whether such orders were violated constitutes a contested factual issue that cannot be conclusively resolved in writ proceedings. (Paras 21, 26, 27)

(C) Principles of Natural Justice - Forum Shopping and Abuse of Process - Repeated filing of multiple proceedings to stall civil litigation or to achieve collateral objectives constitutes an abuse of process; parties seeking equitable relief must approach the court with clean hands and without suppression of material facts. (Paras 17, 28, 34, 35)

Facts of the case:
The petitioners sought to challenge various administrative orders converting land from agricultural to non-agricultural use, alleging that such orders violated subsisting status quo directions issued by the High Court in earlier litigation. Respondents contended that the writ petition was an abuse of process, arguing that they were bona fide purchasers with valid title, that their rights were independent of the ongoing revenue disputes, and that the petitioners had suppressed the pendency of numerous other legal proceedings.

Findings of Court:
The court found that the issues regarding title, succession, and the validity of documents required detailed oral and documentary evidence, which fell within the exclusive province of civil courts. It noted that the petitioners had engaged in forum shopping and failed to demonstrate that the administrative authorities lacked jurisdiction to process the land conversion requests based on valid registered instruments.

Issues: The main issues were whether the High Court should entertain a writ petition to determine title/ownership in the face of pending civil litigation and whether the administrative conversion of land use violated the existing status quo orders.

Ratio Decidendi: The court held that writ jurisdiction is inappropriate for adjudicating complex title disputes or claims founded upon disputed factual foundations. An order of status quo concerning revenue entries does not per se invalidate administrative actions for land conversion, especially when the third-party beneficiaries were not parties to the earlier litigation.

Result: Writ petition dismissed as not maintainable.

Table of Content
1. factual history of property ownership and litigation. (Para 1 , 3 , 4)
2. petitioner's arguments regarding title, status quo, and nala illegality. (Para 5 , 6)
3. respondents' arguments on maintainability and suppression of facts. (Para 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12)
4. article 226 limitation regarding complex title disputes. (Para 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19)
5. scope of status quo orders and abuse of process. (Para 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35)
6. dismissal of the writ petition. (Para 36 , 37)

ORDER :

Initially the first petitioner filed the present writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to declare the NALA orders issued by respondent No.5 in respect of land situated in Sy.No.109/1, Kondapur Village, Serilingampally Mandal, Ranga Reddy District, converting agricultural land to non-agricultural use, namely Proceedings Nos. 2101066510 dated 22.12.2021 (Ac.1-09½ gts.), 2101066645 dated 21.12.2021 (Ac.1-10 gts.), 2101066955 dated 21.12.2021 (Ac.1-23 gts.), 2101112979 dated 22.04.2022 (Ac.4-25 gts.), 3300034986 dated 01.02.2023 (Ac.1-12½ gts., and Ac.1-07 gts.) and 2101111076 dated 01.02.2023 (Ac.1-10 gts.), as illegal, arbitrary, violative of the principles of natural justice, contrary to Act 4 of 1999 and violative of Articles 14, 21 and 300-A of the Constitution of India, besides being vitiated by fraud and misrepresentation and consequently set aside the same, further suspend the operation of the said NALA orders dated 21.12.2021, 22.04.2022 and 01.02.2023 issued pursuant to the orders of this Hon’ble Court in I.A.No.1 of 2019 in W.P.No.12470 of 2019 dated 20.08.2019 and I.A.No.1 of 2020 in W.P.No.10620 of 2020 dated 07.08.2020, while directing the authorities not to give effect thereto pending disposal of the main writ petition. A further direction was also sought to Respondent Nos.2 to 5 to mutate the name of the Petitioner by rectifying the revenue records and restrain the Respondents from issuing any orders or proceedings in favour of third parties in respect of land admeasuring Ac.19-08 gts in Sy.No.109/1, Ac.5-21 gts in Sy.No.112/3 and Ac. 2-35 gts in Sy.No.134, situated at Kondapur Village, Serilingampally Mandal, Ranga Reddy District, belonging to the Petitioner.

2. Heard Sri Surya Balu Mahendra, learned Senior Counsel for the 1st petitioner, Sri V.Srinivasa Rao, learned counsel for the 2nd petitioner, Sri P.Sree Raghu Ram, learned senior counsel, representing Sri TH Ramakrushnom, learned counsel for the respondent Nos.7 and 8, Sri A.Ravinder Reddy, learned senior counsel representing Sri B.Venkateswara Reddy & DV Srinivasa Rao, learned counsel for respondent Nos.9 and 10, Sri SVS Prasada Rao, learned counsel for the respondent Nos.11 and 12 and also Sri L.Ravinder, learned Assistant Government Pleader appearing on behalf of Government Pleader for Revenue Sri K.Muralidhar Reddy.

3. The case of the 1st petitioner, in brief, is that he along with his sister is the absolute owner of land admeasuring Ac.19-08 Gts., in Survey No.109/1 of Kondapur Village and other adjoining lands, having inherited the same from his father late M.V.Raghavaiah. The petitioner's father purchased the subject property under a registered sale deed dated 02.12.1959 from one Vazheeruddin Ahmed and his title was further confirmed under a final decree dated 24.12.1969 in O.S.No.62 of 1963, on the file of the learned Munsiff Magistrate, West, Hyderabad. Upon the demise of his father on 26.03.1977, the property devolved upon the petitioner, his mother Smt.Anjamma and his sister being the class-I legal heirs. During her lifetime, Smt.Anjamma executed a Will dated 06.01.1990 and a Codicil dated 15.01.2003 in favour of the petitioner. After her death on 30.03.2003, the petitioner claims to have succeeded to her share as well and thus asserts lawful title by way of registered conveyance and succession.

(a) It is the further case of the 1st petitioner that in

Click Here to Read the rest of this document
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
SupremeToday Portrait Ad
supreme today icon
logo-black

An indispensable Tool for Legal Professionals, Endorsed by Various High Court and Judicial Officers

Please visit our Training & Support
Center or Contact Us for assistance

qr

Scan Me!

India’s Legal research and Law Firm App, Download now!

For Daily Legal Updates, Join us on :

whatsapp-icon Back to top