[BREAKING] Supreme Court stays Telangana court order sentencing Major General of Indian Army & DO Officer to two months imprisonment

The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed a decision of a court in Telangana which had ordered Major General of Indian Army (GOC) and Defence Estate Officer (DO) to be imprisoned for two months in civil prison (Union of India v Anand Bala)..The Telangana court had ordered the imprisonment of the Army Officer and DO while dealing with execution proceedings in a land dispute.The Telangana High Court had refused to grant a stay on that order prompting the Central government to approach the Supreme Court. .Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta mentioned the matter before a bench of Chief Justice of India SA Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian and sought an urgent stay. ."We stay the entire order passed in execution proceedings," the top court ordered. .The genesis of the case lies in a suit filed by the Central government before a Telangana court laying claim to land alleged to have been encroached by one Veera Raghav Reddy (original defendant). It was alleged that the defendant had encroached upon government land which was under military use and occupation and used for parade and training ground and that encroachment was to the extent of 9 acres. .The defendant stated that he and his ancestors had been in continuous, open and adverse possession of the disputed land for over 160 years and the rights alleged to have acquired by the other party like cantonment became completely extinguished with the lapse of time..The suit was dismissed by Third Additional Judge, City Civil Court, Secunderabad. This was challenged before the High Court by the Central government. When this appeal was pending the defendant sold 5 acres and 34 guntas of the land under dispute. .A counter petition was filed by the respondents which was allowed by the trial court and was decreed in favour of the legal heirs of the original defendant.Through that order, the Central government was restrained from interfering with the peaceful possession of the land by the original defendent's heirs. .In execution proceedings in relation to that order, the trial court ordered on January 27, 2021, that the Major General of Indian Army (GOC) and Defence Estate Officer be sent to civil prison for a period of two months each of their willful disobedience and violation of the decree of permanent injunction passed by High Court in 2017..Aggrieved, the government moved the High Court by way of a Civil Revision Petition seeking a stay. But despite the fact a major general of the Indian Army was ordered to go to civil prison, High Court still refused to interfere in the matter and adjourned it without passing any orders, the petition before the Supreme Court said. .[Read Petition]