The Supreme Court of India delivered a decisive verdict on December 18, 2025, rejecting ownership claims by alleged heirs and nominees of Nawab Mir Yousuf Ali Khan, known as Salar Jung III, over 102 acres of prime forest land in Survey No. 201/1, Sahebnagar Kalan village, Hayathnagar mandal, Ranga Reddy district, Telangana. Valued at over ₹4,000 crore due to its proximity to urban Hyderabad, the land was declared government property and ordered to be notified as part of the Gurramguda Reserve Forest block.
The long-standing dispute originated in 2005 when claimants, including Mir Jaffar Ali Khan—a court-appointed nominee—and others asserting succession through Salar Jung III's maternal uncle's lineage, filed petitions before the Forest Settlement Officer seeking exclusion from proposed reserve forest notifications. These claims relied on historical sale deeds, alleged release orders from the Jagir Administrator, and revenue record entries tracing back to the Nizam era.
A bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and SVN Bhatti conducted an exhaustive review, determining that the documents presented did not substantiate the land as self-acquired property of Salar Jung III. The court identified tampering in revenue records, including incorrect and fabricated entries, which undermined the claimants' assertions.
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Drawing on historical context, the judgment recalled the 1948 Operation Polo, leading to Hyderabad State's integration into India, followed by the 1949 Hyderabad (Abolition of Jagirs) Regulation that vested all Jagir lands in the government. The bench ruled that Jagirdars possessed only life interests without rights of alienation or assignment, rendering subsequent private transfers invalid and claims based on them untenable.
Overturning favourable decisions by the Forest Settlement Officer, Ranga Reddy district court, and Telangana High Court, the Supreme Court directed the Telangana Chief Secretary to finalise proceedings under Section 15 of the Telangana Forest Act within eight weeks, emphasising the critical need to protect diminishing urban green spaces in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad amid rapid development pressures.
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