Telangana HC tells GHMC to decide regularisation plea before demolition of Begumpet building

Time of India

4 hours ago

Hyderabad: Justice T Vinod Kumar of the Telangana high court has directed the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (
) to consider an application filed by a woman and her son seeking regularisation of their Begumpet property—constructed in violation of approved building norms—before initiating any demolition.
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The dispute pertains to property bearing Nos. 6-3-1177/A/120 and 6-3-1177/A/104 in BS Maktha, Begumpet, where the petitioners, Cheguri Lakshmi and her son Cheguri Eswar Sai Kishore, constructed a building. The GHMC had granted permission in 2022 for a stilt and two upper floors. However, the petitioners allegedly constructed a ground+4 upper floors along with an additional fifth floor, citing structural stability and Vastu considerations.
The matter surfaced after a local resident, P Narender, filed a writ petition alleging illegal construction. In response, the high court, in an order (dated April 18, 2024), directed the GHMC to act against the unauthorised structure. Lakshmi later filed a separate writ petition, arguing that she was not made a party in the earlier case and that she had submitted a regularisation application under section 455A of the GHMC Act, 1955, on June 1, 2024.
The GHMC countered that the structure violated the sanctioned plan, setback norms, and other building regulations, and therefore was ineligible for regularisation.
While dismissing Lakshmi's plea to set aside the earlier court order, Justice Vinod Kumar held that the petitioners had no legal basis to challenge a previous judicial direction through a fresh writ without first seeking review. He ruled that the earlier high court order remains valid.
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However, the judge directed GHMC to process the petitioner's section 455A application in accordance with the law and in the spirit of the high court's judgment in A Praveen Kumar vs State of Telangana (2023), which held that only constructions adhering to building rules are eligible for regularisation.
The court declined to stay demolition but made it clear that no coercive action should be taken until the GHMC decides the pending application.
Justice Vinod Kumar also observed that the petitioners had clubbed two plots totalling 400 square yards and constructed well beyond permissible limits, in clear violation of the Telangana Building Rules. The GHMC had earlier issued a speaking order on Oct 3, 2023, declaring the construction illegal—an order the petitioners failed to challenge.
The judge concluded by stating that equity does not favour those who openly flout the law.