HYDERABAD: After over a 12-year wait for a plot, there was some cheer for the widow of a former IFS officer, who was killed in Kabul in 2008, as the Telangana high court on Tuesday directed state officials to hand it over to her in three weeks.
On Tuesday, chief secretary (CS) Somesh Kumar informed the high court that the state would allot a 475 square yard plot at Bharani layout in Jubilee Hills to Vadapalli Malathi Rao, the widow of slain IFS officer Venkateswara Rao who was killed in a terror attack on Indian Embassy in Kabul in July 2008. But when he sought three more months to transfer it to her, the bench said: “She has been patiently waiting for the plot for the last 12 years. It would be unfair on your part to seek a long time. Do it immediately.”
The bench of Chief Justice Hima Kohli and Justice B Vijaysen Reddy, which had earlier converted a letter written by the widow to the CJ as a writ petition, told the CS to complete the registration of conveyance deed within three weeks.
The bench also asked Malathi to visit the proposed site and check the measurements of the plot.
The bench then told CV Bhaskar Reddy, the counsel for the revenue department, to convey this message to the widow. The government pleader also assured the court that he would ensure that the tahsildar accompanied her during her visit to the plot.
When the state counsel insisted that they needed more time as they had to obtain approval of Telangana State Land Management Authority for allotting this plot, the bench said: “You make your efforts and let the authority take expeditious steps to accord the approval. Let the district collector and the tahsildar execute the conveyance deed by Aug 21.”
The case has now been posted to Aug 23.
