In a major setback to the policies adopted by the previous KCR government, the Telangana High Court has quashed the allotment of land in a highly valuable area to the International Arbitration and Mediation Centre (IAMC) in Hyderabad. The state government issued a sensational verdict on Friday, quashing the GOs issued earlier to this effect.
The court took this decision after hearing public interest litigations filed alleging that the allotment was made in violation of the rules. The government has issued orders allocating more than 3.5 acres of land in Survey No. 83/1 in Rayadurgam, Serilingampally mandal, Hyderabad to IAMC. The value of this land, located in the IT corridor, is estimated to be around Rs. 350 crore.
However, advocates K. Raghunath Rao and Venkataram Reddy have filed separate public interest litigations in the High Court, saying that allocating government land to a private entity is illegal. A bench comprising Justices K. Lakshman and K. Sujana heard the petitions.
Advocate Raghunath Rao, while hearing the arguments, brought to the court’s attention that the government had made these allocations in violation of the Supreme Court’s judgments and in violation of the rules. On the other hand, the Advocate General argued on behalf of the government.
He said that the establishment of IAMC in Hyderabad would facilitate the resolution of international trade disputes. He said that the courts themselves are encouraging disputes to be resolved outside the courts, which will also reduce the burden on the judiciary.
As the arguments of both parties concluded in January this year, the bench reserved the verdict. In its latest final verdict on Friday, it clarified that in addition to allocating land to IAMC, it is also completely quashing the GOs issued for the maintenance of its existing building. With this verdict, the land allocations made by the state government to IAMC have been cancelled.
