The Telangana high court on Monday ordered the immediate removal of senior IPS officer A V Ranganath as commissioner of the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA), holding him guilty of repeatedly committing contempt of court by ignoring its directions, people familiar with the matter said.HT ImageHearing a contempt petition related to a 40-acre land dispute at Lothkunta in Secunderabad involving a private construction company, Justice Anil Kumar Jukanti directed chief secretary Sanjay Jaju to identify a suitable officer to replace Ranganath as HYDRAA commissioner.HYDRAA is an agency constituted by the state government in July 2024 to protect lakes and government land from encroachments.The petitioner alleged that HYDRAA officials entered the disputed property despite subsisting judicial restraint orders, amounting to wilful disobedience of the court’s earlier directions.Observing that the HYDRAA commissioner had repeatedly failed to comply with court orders, Justice Jukanti remarked that Ranganath had become “a law unto himself.”The judge also noted that 63 contempt cases were reportedly pending against Ranganath before the high court during his tenure as HYDRAA commissioner. The bench described the situation as a matter of grave concern, saying it reflected a pattern of disregard for judicial directives.Justice Jukanti further observed that HYDRAA, despite having no statutory powers, was superseding government departments, which were increasingly approaching the agency instead of exercising their own statutory authority.The court had earlier directed Ranganath to appear in person and submit an unconditional written apology through an affidavit by Monday. However, he did not appear before the court, and his counsel informed the bench that they intended to file a petition instead of the affidavit.Taking serious exception to his absence, the judge viewed it as an act of wilful disobedience and directed the chief secretary to replace the present HYDRAA commissioner with immediate effect.Justice Jukanti stressed the need to appoint an officer who would ensure compliance with judicial orders and uphold the rule of law.Last week, the high court directed the Indian Army to take Ranganath into custody and lodge him in an army barracks for repeatedly violating court orders. The bench had then remarked that it had lost faith in the state government’s ability to enforce compliance with judicial directions.Meanwhile, an official familiar with the matter said the government was likely to approach a division bench challenging Justice Jukanti’s order.“We are awaiting the full judgment copy. After that, the government will take a decision on approaching the division bench,” the official added.Reacting to the high court order, HYDRAA commissioner A V Ranganath said that he would contest all the contempt cases through legal means and expressed complete faith in the judiciary. He said that 63 contempt cases had been filed against him, claiming that all of them were initiated by influential land grabbers whose interests were affected by HYDRAA’s actions. “My only mistake is standing in the way of such alleged encroachments,” he added.