Challenging Assigned Land Resumption Notices in Telangana (Act 9 of 1977)

Challenging Assigned Land Resumption Notices in Telangana (Act 9 of 1977)

Form-I / Form-II Tahsildar notices, 90-day RDO and Collector appeals, revision and High Court writs under the POT Act — for assignees, purchasers and occupants in Hyderabad and Medchal–Malkajgiri.

Introduction

An assigned land dispute in Telangana often starts with a notice from the Tahsildar. In Medchal–Malkajgiri, Shamirpet, Ghatkesar, Kapra, Quthbullapur and other Hyderabad-fringe mandals, that notice is usually issued under the Telangana Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act, 1977 (Act 9 of 1977), commonly called the POT Act.

The notice may say the land was assigned to a landless poor person, that a sale or gift is void, and that the Government will resume possession. Purchasers who paid full consideration, heirs of the original assignee, and even people who have been in occupation for decades receive the same Form-I or Form-II paper.

This article explains when Act 9 of 1977 applies, what the notice must contain, how to reply, the 90-day appeal and revision route, when a writ before the Telangana High Court is justified, and the documents that actually move the file. It is practical guidance, not a prediction of the result in your survey number.

What “assigned land” actually means

Act 9 of 1977 does not apply to every Government grant. “Assigned land” is land given by the Government to a landless poor person under the assignment rules then in force, subject to a condition of non-alienation. It also covers land allotted to landless poor persons under land-ceiling laws.

Two facts must exist before the Tahsildar can resume:

• The land must fall within that definition.
• There must be a transfer (or acquisition) that the Act treats as prohibited.

The Telangana High Court has treated the first point as a jurisdictional fact. In N. Malleswar Rao v. Principal Secretary, Revenue Department (1 July 2024), the Court held that the authority must first determine that the land is assigned land as defined in Section 2(1). A vague notice that does not identify the original assignee and the assignment deed is not a proper foundation for resumption.

Not every old patta is assigned land. Occupancy or Laoni grants, market-value assignments, and grants that contain no non-alienation clause have been distinguished in several High Court and Supreme Court decisions, including the Supreme Court’s analysis in Yadaiah v. State of Telangana. Whether your patta is covered depends on the actual assignment order, not on a later pahani remark or a Dharani / Bhu Bharati “prohibited” flag.

A “landless poor person,” in the Act, is a person who owns not more than about 2.5 acres wet or 5 acres dry (or such other extent as the Government specifies) and has no other means of livelihood. Exact acreage and current notifications should be verified on the facts of the file.

When a Tahsildar can issue a resumption notice

Section 3 is the heart of the POT Act. In substance:

• Assigned land given for cultivation or as a house-site is not transferable.
• A prohibited transfer is treated as if it never happened.
• The buyer does not get title.

“Transfer” is wide. It covers sale, gift, exchange, mortgage (with or without possession), lease, and other dealings. A will is generally treated differently from an inter vivos transfer — confirm the exact document before you concede the point.

Section 4 then lets the District Collector, or an officer not below the rank of Mandal Revenue Officer / Tahsildar authorised by the Collector, take possession after written notice if Section 3(1) has been contravened. After eviction, the land may be:

• restored to the original assignee or legal heir (restoration is generally only once);
• reassigned, in eligible cases, to a good-faith purchaser who is himself landless poor and was in occupation for agriculture or as a house-site — the statutory cut-off commonly applied is purchase on or before 31 December 2017 (amendments to Section 4; verify the current text and any later notification);
• kept by Government in areas notified for a public purpose.

If the land is in a notified public-purpose belt, “reassignment to the purchaser” is usually not available. That is a separate enquiry. Using resumption as a substitute for land acquisition after a long, peaceful occupation is a point courts have scrutinised — see E. Krishnamurty v. Principal Secretary, Revenue (Telangana High Court, 13 August 2025) and the Mekala Pandu line cited there.

Unauthorised re-entry after eviction can attract imprisonment up to six months or fine up to Rs 5,000, or both. Do not treat a resumption order as a paper threat.

What the notice from the Tahsildar must contain

Rule 3 of the Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Rules requires notice in Form-I to the person who transferred and Form-II to the person who acquired. Both must be served. Fifteen days are ordinarily given for a representation. The officer then considers the reply and passes a reasoned order.

Courts have repeatedly said the notice is not an empty ritual. A usable notice should state, at least:

• survey number, village, mandal and extent;
• name of the original assignee;
• date and file number of the assignment / D-form patta;
• the non-alienation condition, if the Government relies on it;
• the alleged transfer (document number and date, if registered);
• the provision invoked (Section 3 read with Section 4 and Rule 3);
• a real opportunity to inspect the assignment record and file a reply.

B. Halya Rani v. Special Grade Deputy Collector (Telangana High Court, 11 January 2024) set aside a resumption where Form-I / Form-II were not issued to both transferor and transferee. K. Ramu v. Deputy Collector (15 March 2023) and N. Malleswar Rao (2024) take the same line on missing assignment particulars.

If you only received an oral warning, a Revenue Inspector slip, or a Dharani / Bhu Bharati SMS, that is not a completed Section 4 proceeding. Ask for the signed Form-I or Form-II and the assignment record.

How to reply to a notice from Tahsildar on assigned land

Do not ignore the 15-day window. A late or one-line reply is used later to say you had “opportunity.”

1. Get the record. Apply in writing to the Tahsildar for copies of the assignment file, D-form patta, old sethwar / tippon, khasra pahani, assignment register extract, and the note file that led to the notice. Use the RTI route if the office stalls.
2. Test jurisdiction first. Is this assigned land at all? Who was the assignee? Was there a non-alienation clause? Was the grant a market-value Laoni occupancy rather than a poor-person assignment?
3. Test the transfer. Is the document a sale, a gift, a family arrangement, a will, or a mortgage to a notified institution? The Act’s explanation carves out certain mortgages from “alienation” — verify the current list of institutions before relying on it.
4. Test procedure. Was Form-I served on the transferor and Form-II on every occupant / purchaser? Was the notice specific? Was an earlier proceeding dropped? A Tahsildar cannot quietly reopen a closed file on the same grounds years later without authority to review. The High Court said so in the Janakamma matter (reported May 2024).
5. Test delay. Suo motu action after decades is a recognised ground. Joint Collector, Ranga Reddy District v. D. Narsing Rao (2015) 3 SCC 496 requires a reasonable period even where the statute is silent. Single-bench revenue cases, applied again in Gudipudi Padmavathi v. State of Telangana (3 September 2025), have spoken of a five-to-six-year outer band in some assignment-condition disputes. That is not a statutory limitation. Outcome still depends on facts, possession, and whether third-party rights have intervened.
6. Plead alternative relief. If the land truly is assigned and the purchase was in good faith for value on or before the statutory cut-off, and the purchaser is landless poor and in occupation, ask for reassignment under the amended Section 4(1)(b). Do not assume eligibility. Extent caps (commonly 5 acres dry or 2.5 acres wet including other land) apply — verify current figures.

File the reply with acknowledgement. Keep the dak receipt. If the officer proceeds to evict, ask in the same reply for a speaking order and for no dispossession until the statutory appeal period expires.

After the resumption order: appeal, revision and stay

The Act itself creates the ladder. Civil court is generally closed.

Appeal — Section 4-A (90 days from receipt of the order)

• Order of the Tahsildar / MRO under Section 4(1) → appeal to the Revenue Divisional Officer.
• Order of the RDO under Section 4(1) → appeal to the District Collector.

For Medchal–Malkajgiri land, that usually means the RDO of the division in which the village sits (Medchal / Keesara / Malkajgiri — confirm the current territorial chart) and then the District Collector, Medchal–Malkajgiri. For GHMC-core villages that still fall in a Hyderabad or Rangareddy revenue unit, file in that unit. Wrong forum wastes the 90 days.

Revision — Section 4-B (90 days from communication)

• The District Collector may revise proceedings that are not already covered by a Collector-level Section 4-A(2) appeal.
• The Government may revise any proceeding, on application or suo motu.

No adverse revision order can be passed without a chance to represent. The Collector or Government may suspend the order while revision is pending (Section 4-B(3)). Ask for that stay in the revision memo itself.

In D. Umarani v. District Collector, Karimnagar (1 May 2015), the High Court read the 90-day revision window strictly and held that Section 4-B does not itself confer power to condone delay. Do not treat Section 5 of the Limitation Act as an automatic safety net. If you are already out of time, take specific advice before filing.

Finality and the civil-court bar

Subject to appeal and revision, a Section 4 order is declared final. The Act says it shall not be questioned in any court and that no injunction shall be granted in respect of proceedings under the Act. That is why a regular civil suit for injunction against a live POT Act proceeding is usually the wrong tool. A title suit filed in ignorance of Section 4 can be met with this bar.

Writ — Telangana High Court (Article 226)

A writ is not a second appeal on facts. It is used when:

• the land is not assigned land at all, so the officer had no jurisdiction;
• Form-I / Form-II were not served on the person in possession;
• the show-cause notice hides the assignment particulars;
• the Tahsildar reviewed his own earlier drop order;
• action is taken after an inordinate delay, or to take land for a public project without acquisition;
• appeal or revision is pending and dispossession is imminent, and the statutory authority has refused stay.

The High Court often asks why the Section 4-A / 4-B remedy was not used. If those remedies are still open and adequate, file there first and seek stay. If they have been exhausted with a cryptic, non-speaking order, the writ becomes stronger.

POT Act disputes in Medchal and the Hyderabad outskirts

Medchal–Malkajgiri generates a large share of POT Act notices because old assignment and Laoni pockets now sit under layouts, farmhouses and industrial land. Typical flashpoints:

• a Bhu Bharati (earlier Dharani) entry showing “assigned / prohibited,” even where the chain of registered deeds is long;
• layout plots sold from a parent survey that was once a D-form patta;
• a bank refusing a loan or a sub-registrar refusing a deed because the Collector’s assigned-land list under Section 5 has the survey number;
• a later public project (ORR buffer, hardware park, TSIIC parcel) triggering a fresh Form-I.

Section 5 requires the Collector to give registering officers a list of assigned lands. Registration of a transfer of listed assigned land needs prior Collector permission. The Telangana Bhu Bharati (Record of Rights in Land) Act, 2025 also treats a POT Act contravention as a bar to treating a deed as valid mutation material. Correcting the revenue portal without attacking the underlying Section 4 order usually does not finish the dispute.

If your problem is only a wrong portal flag and there is no Form-I / Section 4 order, the Bhu Bharati / Dharani correction and Collector appeal path may be enough. If a resumption file is already open, deal with that file first.

Documents and evidence that matter

Bring paper, not speeches.

• D-form patta / assignment order and conditions page
• Assignment file noting sheet and sketch
• Sethwar, tippon, khasra pahani 1954–55 and later pahanis
• Pattadar passbook-cum-title deed and Bhu Bharati / Dharani extract
• Registered sale deeds, link documents, encumbrance certificate
• Proof of consideration (bank trail, if any)
• Proof that the purchaser was landless poor on the date of purchase, if reassignment is claimed
• Proof of continuous agricultural or house-site occupation
• Earlier drop orders, appeal orders, High Court orders on the same survey
• Layout permission, building permission, or conversion file (these do not legalise a void POT Act transfer, but they show bona fides and delay)
• Photographs, tax receipts, electricity / water connections

The officer who asserts that the land is assigned land must produce the assignment. Do not accept a bare pahani remark as a substitute for the patta.

Common mistakes

• Treating a registered sale deed as a complete defence. Under Section 3, a prohibited transfer is treated as void. Registration does not cure it.
• Missing the 90-day clock for appeal or revision.
• Filing only a civil injunction suit while a Section 4 file is alive.
• Replying “I am a bona fide purchaser” without asking for the assignment deed.
• Ignoring Form-II occupants — tenants, plot buyers, family members in possession. An order passed behind their back is vulnerable.
• Assuming Laoni / market-value land is automatically outside the Act, or automatically inside it, without reading the grant.
• Waiting for physical eviction. Once a panchanama of possession is drawn, restoration becomes much harder.
• Using resumption language in a public-project case instead of demanding acquisition and compensation where the law requires it.

Bullet-point checklist

• Read the notice: Form-I or Form-II, file number, survey, village, mandal.
• Note the date of receipt. Diary the 15-day reply and, later, the 90-day appeal.
• Demand the assignment patta and file, in writing.
• Check whether the grant has a non-alienation condition.
• List every person in possession and insist they are noticed.
• File a written, page-numbered reply with annexures and acknowledgement.
• If an order of resumption is passed, file Section 4-A appeal within 90 days and apply for stay.
• If the next order is adverse, use Section 4-B revision (where available) within 90 days and again seek stay.
• Keep the High Court writ ready if jurisdiction, natural justice, or imminent dispossession is in issue.
• Do not re-enter land after a formal eviction without legal process.
• Cross-check Bhu Bharati / Dharani and the Section 5 assigned-land list, but do not treat the portal as the title.
• Take advice before relying on the 31 December 2017 reassignment cut-off or on any mortgage exception.

Conclusion

A notice from the Tahsildar on assigned land is a title threat, not a routine revenue memo. Act 9 of 1977 can void a registered purchase and put the State in possession. The same Act, however, forces the officer to prove that the land is assigned land, to serve Form-I and Form-II, to hear the occupant, and to live with a 90-day appeal and revision. In Medchal and the rest of the Hyderabad belt, the file is often won or lost on the old assignment patta and on delay, not on who currently pays the land tax.

Clock the 15 days. Clock the 90 days. Get the assignment record. Then choose reply, appeal, revision or writ on the facts you actually have.

Disclaimer

This article is for general information on assigned land disputes in Telangana. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for advice on a specific survey number, notice or order. Statutory text, assignment rules, reassignment cut-offs, Bhu Bharati procedure and territorial charts of RDOs change. Several points above are marked for verification on the current Act, Rules and your documents. Consult an advocate with the notice and the revenue record before you act.

Related reading

• Land Encroachment Remedies in Telangana: Legal Steps and Collector Remedies
• Dharani / Bhu Bharati Portal Disputes: TM31, Appeal and Collector Remedies
• Section 22-A Prohibited Property List, Telangana — NOC Procedure
• Inam Land Disputes in Medchal: ORC and Civil Remedies
• Cancel a Registered Sale Deed: Grounds, Procedure and Interim Relief
• Injunction to Prevent Dispossession — Interim Application in Hyderabad Courts
• Document Evidence in India: Originals, Certified Copies and Digital Records
• Adverse Possession in India: Requirements, Evidence and Telangana Practice

Received a Tahsildar notice under the POT Act, or has your Medchal / Hyderabad-fringe survey been flagged as assigned land on Bhu Bharati? Share the notice, the survey number and the last registered deed. We will map the 15-day reply, the 90-day RDO / Collector clock, and whether the file belongs in revision or before the Telangana High Court — before possession is taken under a panchanama.