The petitioners submitted that the First Additional District Judge, Medchal–Malkajgiri District at Kushaiguda, passed orders in October 2023 and January 2024 declaring them the absolute owners and lawful possessors of the properties in question.The Telangana High Court on Wednesday ordered Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Protection Agency (HYDRAA) to pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh as damages for erecting a fence on private land in the Mallapur area on the outskirts of Hyderabad.Justice N V Shravan Kumar observed that the respondents “high-handedly fenced and, after writ petitions were filed, are now justifying their stand without following due process of the law.”“If the fencing is not removed, (HYDRAA) shall pay an amount of Rs 1 lakh per day to the petitioners till the date of removal… This court has emphatically observed that any act of fencing or fixing boards should be at the direction of jurisdictional courts or the high court,” Justice Kumar said in the order.The court was dealing with two writ petitions challenging HYDRAA’s actions of fencing the subject property, plot numbers 184 and 185, measuring 500 square yards at Babanagar Co-operative Housing Society.The petitioners submitted that the First Additional District Judge, Medchal–Malkajgiri District at Kushaiguda, passed orders in October 2023 and January 2024 declaring them the absolute owners and lawful possessors of the properties in question.The First Additional District Judge also directed the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) to remove the wall it had constructed along the properties. In addition, it granted a permanent injunction restraining GHMC from interfering with the petitioners’ possession and enjoyment of the properties.They argued that the matter had attained finality before the trial court, even as HYDRAA defended its actions.Story continues below this adMeanwhile, a court-appointed advocate commissioner inspected the subject properties and submitted a report dated February 25, which was taken on record by the court. The court also noted that GHMC and its zonal commissioner for L B Nagar were aware of the trial court’s orders, which were binding on them, yet went ahead and directed HYDRAA to fence the subject lands.“In view of the specific directions of the trial court, where the orders were passed on a leading evidence and that there was a specific direction to remove the wall by way of mandatory injunction, the respondents being aware of the orders passed by the trial court, ought not to have fenced the subject lands when the rights of the petitioner were determined by the trial court,” the court observed.The court adjourned the matter to March 18 for the report of compliance and for any counterarguments from the respondent authorities.Rahul V Pisharody is Assistant Editor with the Indian Express Online and has been reporting for IE on various news developments from Telangana since 2019. He is currently reporting on legal matters from the Telangana High Court. Rahul started his career as a journalist in 2011 with The New Indian Express and worked in different roles at the Hyderabad bureau for over 8 years. As Deputy Metro Editor, he was in charge of the Hyderabad bureau of the newspaper and coordinated with the team of city reporters, district correspondents, other centres and internet desk for over three years. A native of Palakkad in Kerala, Rahul has a Master's degree in Communication (Print and New Media) from the University of Hyderabad and a Bachelor's degree in Business Management from PSG College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore. ... Read More © The Indian Express Pvt Ltd