HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT HYDERABAD FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AND THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH PRESENT THE HON’BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE SRI KALYAN JYOTI SENGUPTA AND THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE SANJAY KUMAR WRIT APPEAL NO.1192 OF 2014 DATED:10.10.2014 Between:
Gollapally Kista Reddy and others … Appellants And The State of Telangana Represented by its Secretary Revenue Department Secretariat Hyderabad and others … Respondents THE HON’BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE SRI KALYAN JYOTI SENGUPTA AND THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE SANJAY KUMAR WRIT APPEAL NO.1192 OF 2014 JUDGMENT: (per the Hon’ble Sri Justice Sanjay Kumar) The unsuccessful petitioners in W.P. No.19149 of 2014, which was dismissed by order dt.25.7.2014, are in appeal. The learned Judge held against the petitioners on the ground that the order impugned in the writ petition was passed as long back as on 10.5.1978 and the affidavit filed in support of the writ petition did not satisfactorily explain the delay and laches on their part in approaching the Court. The learned Judge also took note of the fact that the order impugned appeared to be a consent order. However, the learned Judge reserved liberty to the petitioners to approach the competent forum in terms of the order dt.11.6.2014 passed by the District Collector, Ranga Reddy District.
Though Sri T.C.D. Sekhar, learned counsel for the appellants, would contend on merits that the writ petition deserved to be entertained, no explanation is forthcoming even now to explain the long delay on the part of the petitioners in approaching the Court. The learned counsel would submit that a fraud has been played, by virtue of which the order impugned was shown to be a consent order.
This Court is of the opinion that in terms of the liberty granted to the appellants to approach the competent forum, it is for them to plead and prove the alleged fraud before such forum. This Court, in exercise of its extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution, cannot undertake such an enquiry in a writ petition. We therefore do not find any reason to interfere with the order under appeal and accordingly dismiss the same affirming the liberty granted to the appellants to approach the competent forum.
Pending miscellaneous petitions, if any, shall also stand dismissed. There will be no order as to costs.
K.J. SENGUPTA, CJ SANJAY KUMAR, J 10.10.2014 bnr