Farmers allege violation of court order in vehicle seizure case

CH NEWS, RAICHUR Farmers affected by land acquisition for the ninth canal of the Upper Krishna Project (UKP) have expressed outrage, alleging that officials of the Deputy Commissioner’s office failed to comply with a court order to seize two government vehicles over non-payment of compensation. The farmers alleged that they were made to wait outside the district administration office at Yeklaspur from 10 am until evening, but the two Toyota Innova vehicles were not handed over for seizure. Instead, office staff allegedly drove the vehicles away, leaving the farmers disappointed. The Manvi Senior Civil Court had ordered the seizure of two Innova Crysta cars belonging to the Deputy Commissioner’s office in connection with pending land acquisition compensation cases. Following the order, the affected farmers arrived at the office, accompanied by their advocate, Umadevi Patil. Court staff also reached the spot to execute the order. Initially, officials reportedly sought time to negotiate with the farmers. The farmers, however, insisted that any request for additional time be submitted in writing rather than communicated orally. Officials subsequently sought time until the afternoon. One of the affected farmers, M Prem Kumar, alleged that an Innova Crysta car, which was ordered to be seized, was parked in front of the office. The Additional Deputy Commissioner reportedly travelled in a private vehicle for lunch and returned later. The farmers were allegedly told that the car would be handed over in the evening and were asked to wait. However, the driver subsequently drove the vehicle away, Prem Kumar claimed. He further alleged that officials and staff, who had initially assured the farmers that the vehicles would be handed over to the court in their presence, later drove them away at speed. According to advocate Umadevi Patil, the court ordered the seizure of the vehicles in two separate execution proceedings relating to unpaid land acquisition compensation. Patil said, four affected farmers were entitled to a total compensation amount of Rs 4 crore across the two cases. As part of the proceedings, the court ordered the seizure of the two vehicles and subsequently directed payment of the outstanding compensation in full. She accused the district administration officials and staff of misleading the farmers and frustrating the execution of the court's order by taking the vehicles away in the evening. Condemning the alleged incident, she said the farmers, already facing hardship, had been denied justice despite approaching the court for relief. Affected farmers Vijayakumar Heera, Jayappa Heera, Ayyappa Huda and Shivakumar Huda were present at the spot.