Overview
- A division bench of Justices Moushumi Bhattacharya and Gadi Praveen Kumar rejected the government’s writ appeals over 6.22 acres acquired in 2001 at Manikonda.
- The court left intact a 2023 single-judge order requiring the state to either provide alternate land to the owners or start fresh acquisition under the RFCTLARR Act, 2013.
- Judges said the state cannot claim a separate limitation period and condemned a “sense of entitlement” in seeking condonation of extreme delay.
- Explanations tied to 2023 Assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha election duties and rollout of new programmes were deemed legally insufficient.
- The dispute stems from an urgency invocation under the 1894 Act followed by late possession and award, with petitioners also citing unequal treatment compared with land allotted to the TNGO Housing Society.