The High Court made it clear on Monday that regularisation of lands made in accordance with GOs 58 and 59 will be subject to the final outcome of the petitions filed challenging the said GOs.

“The land regularisation scheme of the Telangana government appears to benefit the encroachers and not law-abiding citizens,” the court remarked.

A division bench, comprising Chief Justice KJ Sengupta and Justice PV Sanjay Kumar, passed this order while dealing with two PILs filed separately by PL Vishweshwar Rao and two others, and Anwar Khan, challenging the GOs Ms No 58 and 59 issued on December 30, 2014 for regularisation of government lands occupied illegally.

The petitioners alleged that the GOs had been issued without evolving a mechanism to impose penalty, check misuse, etc. They said the government’s action was certainly encouraging and advantageous to  land-grabbers and unsocial elements who encroach government lands using fake documents. Large-scale regularisation of lands was against public interest, they added.

They said there was a need to constitute a penal committee to conduct a full-fledged enquiry about the land occupants before regularisation and issuance of occupancy certificates. In case of finding any suspect it should refer the matter to the police and the guilty must be dealt with under the Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act (PD Act) and be punished as per law.

Telangana advocate-general K Ramakrishna Reddy told the court that it was the policy decision of the government to extend benefit to the people living in houses constructed on government lands. The scheme was intended to benefit the poor and middle-class families. He sought time to file a counter-affidavit explaining the reasons for initiating regularisation of government lands.

The bench, granting the request, told the AG to inform the applicants of the scheme that regularisation of lands would be subject to the outcome of these petitions.

While adjourning the case, the bench directed the government to file a counter in four weeks and reply to the affidavit of the petitioners in two weeks.