Hyderabad land dispute: Unauthorised possession with intent to occupy or construct qualifies as land grabbing, says Supreme Court | Hyderabad News – Times of India

Hyderabad: Mere unauthorised possession with an intent to occupy or construct qualifies as land grabbing, the Supreme Court observed. The court made the observations while refusing to grant relief to a businessman from the city who was proclaimed a land-grabber for illegally occupying private land in Saroor Nagar.The businessman had moved the Supreme Court challenging the orders of the special court and the Telangana high court evicting him from the 252 square yards of disputed land. Ruling that there was no evidence in support of his claims, the apex court refused to interfere in the high court’s orders and dismissed the appeal.The appellant, VSR Mohan Rao, claimed he had lawfully acquired 252 square yards of land through a sale deed in March 1997 and constructed a double-storied building. However, the legal heirs of the original landowner, KSR Murthy, disputed the possession and contended that the property was part of a 555 square yard plot in survey 9 they had purchased through a sale deed registered in 1965.The court-appointed survey commissioner confirmed that the disputed land falls within Survey 9 — not survey 10 as claimed in Mohan Rao’s deed. Mohan Rao’s earlier civil suits for injunction against the landowner and the municipality were also either dismissed or withdrawn, weakening his claim further, the Supreme Court observed.The Supreme Court further clarified that under the Andhra Pradesh Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, criminal intent (mens rea) is not necessary to classify an act as land grabbing. The court emphasised that once prima facie ownership is proven by the applicant, the burden of proof shifts to the accused land grabber — which Mohan Rao failed to discharge.Dismissing the appeal, the Supreme Court affirmed the petitioner’s eviction from the land and deemed the appellant’s claim of adverse possession untenable due to lack of evidence.