The Andhra Pradesh High Court has once again made it clear that police authorities should not interfere in civil land disputes under the pretext of seeking amicable settlements between parties. The ruling came from Justice Dr. Y. Lakshmana Rao while hearing a writ petition filed by a 74-year-old woman, Smt. Seerapu Shyamala, who is also battling cancer.

The petitioner approached the High Court after being summoned to the Pre-Litigation Counsel Forum (PLCF) in Visakhapatnam regarding a land dispute involving Respondents 4 to 6—Sri Kallepalli Venkata Satya Naga Krishnam Raju, Sri Penmetsa Gopala Raju, and Sri Mudunuri Venkata Satyanarayana Raju.

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During the hearing, the Inspector of Police from Bhimunipatnem Police Station submitted that the PLCF calls were made for counseling purposes only and that attendance was not mandatory. He further informed the Court that since the petitioner was unwilling to participate, the PLCF closed the counseling session on May 14, 2025.

Justice Rao observed:

“When there is a dispute with regard to a land, the police are not expected to enter into the dispute under any guise of amicable settlement of the land dispute. The police have no role to play in the settlement of land dispute.”

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The Court emphasized that civil courts, under Section 9 and Section 15 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, are the correct forums to deal with land-related disputes. Additionally, legal service authorities such as the District Legal Service Authorities, Mandal Legal Service Authority, High Court Legal Service Authority, and the Andhra Pradesh State Legal Service Authority are empowered to resolve such matters lawfully.

Highlighting the risks involved in police involvement, the Court added:

“This kind of establishing or creating PLCF calls for settlement of land dispute would lead to multifarious litigation and create a kind of perplex in the minds of the litigants and mushroom further litigations.”

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Accordingly, the High Court directed Respondents 1 to 3, including the police, to refrain from intervening in similar civil disputes in the future. The Court also noted that there should be no effort to resolve such disputes under any label or platform that involves police interference.

The writ petition was thus closed with no order as to costs.

Case Title: Smt Seerapu Shyamala v. The State Of Andhra Pradesh and Others