The Supreme Court has delivered a significant verdict on a long-standing land dispute in Telangana, ruling that land worth nearly Rs 15,000 crore at Sahebnagar near Vanasthalipuram in Hyderabad belongs to the Telangana Forest Department.
The dispute, relating to about 102 acres of land, had been pending for nearly two decades. Asserting ownership rights, 260 individuals had earlier approached the Telangana High Court, claiming to be descendants of the Nizam, Salar Jung and Mir Alam families. The High Court had ruled in favour of the petitioners, prompting the state government to challenge the decision in the Supreme Court.
Hearing the appeal, a bench comprising Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice S.V.N. Bhatti conducted an extensive examination of the case. After detailed deliberations, the apex court concluded that the entire 102-acre parcel is forest land and that absolute ownership rests with the state government.
The Supreme Court directed the Telangana Chief Secretary to notify the land as reserve forest within eight weeks. It also instructed the state government to submit a copy of the notification to the Supreme Court Registry, reinforcing the binding nature of the order.