Written by Rahul V PisharodyHyderabad | Updated: September 14, 2025 06:59 PM IST 3 min readThe petition was filed in 2015 by Aruna, who claimed that she was entitled to suitable agricultural land in Medak district as per a decision made by a district-level committee in a meeting on October 28, 1999. (File Photo)Issuing a stern warning, the Telangana High Court has given a final opportunity to the Siddipet district collector to file a counter affidavit in the case of a slain Naxalite’s widow, who sought land allotment under a government rehabilitation scheme for surrendered left-wing extremists, failing which the officer must appear personally before the court with the relevant records.“if the counter is not filed by the next date of hearing, the respondent No.8 (Siddipet district collector) is directed to appear before this Court along with the record,” Justice K Sarath noted in the September 10 order, while dealing with a 10-year-old writ petition.Nagavelli Aruna, 56, is the widow of the late Nagavelli Mohan, alias Nakka Mohan, alias Prakash, who was an underground cadre of the People’s War Group (PWG) for 16 years and rose to the level of Dalam commander. During the peak of the Naxalite movement, he surrendered in 1989 and was promised allotment of 5 acres of land in lieu of the reward amount.The petition was filed in 2015 by Aruna, who claimed that she was entitled to suitable agricultural land in Medak district as per a decision made by a district-level committee in a meeting on October 28, 1999. This decision was reportedly in line with a government scheme for the rehabilitation of surrendered extremists, established by a memorandum dated May 1, 1993.A land was identified at Sadashivpet in the then Medak district for allotment and before it was allotted, Mohan was killed by the Naxalites in December 2003. The land was then recommended to be allotted to the widow.As one acre of land was allotted in the Pregnapur village of the Gajwel mandal, it was later identified as patta land (a plot of land whose ownership is legally recorded). The pattadars (land owners) filed an appeal under the ROR (Record of Rights) Act before the revenue divisional officer (RDO) against the allotment, and subsequently, it was cancelled.The petitioner argued that the state’s failure to allot the land is “illegal, arbitrary and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India”. She sought a writ of mandamus to compel the respondents to implement the 1999 committee decision.Story continues below this adWhen the matter was taken up on September 10, Justice K Sarath took a serious view of the attitude of the Siddipet district collector in not filing counter or submitting instructions despite several adjournments granted by the court.During the hearing, the assistant government pleader for assignment requested more time to file a counter on behalf of the eighth respondent, the district collector of Siddipet. The court granted this request but made it clear that no further extensions would be given and directed the personal appearance of the district collector, if no counter is filed by the next date of hearing, September 24.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 MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:telangana