The Telangana High Court on Thursday warned senior IPS officer AV Ranganath, who is serving as commissioner of the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA), that a non-bailable warrant would be issued against him if he fails to appear in person on December 5 in a contempt of court case related to the restoration work of Bathukamma Kunta Lake ​in Hyderabad.
The stern directive comes after the court expressed strong dissatisfaction over the Commissioner's alleged non-compliance with its earlier judicial orders concerning a disputed property near the lake in Bagh Amberpet.
​The contempt proceedings stem from a long-running dispute over a plot of land near the Bathukamma Kunta lake, which is owned by a petitioner, A Sudhakar Reddy. However, HYDRAA said the area falls within the lake's full tank level (FTL) and requires restoration.
​The core of the contempt allegation is that HYDRAA is accused of violating an order passed by the High Court in June. This order had permitted the agency to carry out only limited pre-monsoon flood prevention work on the site, specifically instructing them not to encroach upon the disputed land.
​However, the petitioner alleged that the agency, under the guise of lake rejuvenation, had undertaken "substantial alterations and modifications" to the property, violating the court's order.
The court, referring to the photographs showing major construction activity on the site in October, had initially noted it as a case of contempt.
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During its latest hearing, the court noted with displeasure that Commissioner Ranganath had not appeared in the court in person, and instead he had filed a petition seeking exemption from attendance.
The Division Bench rejected this plea, asserting that his personal presence is mandatory to account for the alleged deliberate disobedience of the court's orders.
​AV Ranganath was appointed as the head of HYDRAA, an agency responsible for the protection of public property and disaster management in the city. The agency has recently faced multiple contempt petitions and judicial criticism regarding its adherence to due process in land-related actions.
