Vacate petrol pump site, hand over land to owners: Telangana HC to IOCL

HYDERABAD: The Telangana high court has directed Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) to vacate a leased petrol pump site in Karimnagar and hand over possession of the land to the property owners. The land was leased to IOCL for 20 years for operation of a retail outlet, M/s. Mahendra Filling Station.

The lease commenced on Sept 15, 2004, and expired on Aug 5, 2023.

Prior to the expiry of the lease, IOCL, in Feb 2023, requested the landowners for a lease renewal for another 19 years and 11 months. However, the landowners, citing plans to divide property among their children, refused to renew lease and requested IOCL to vacate the premises. Disposing of the matter recently, Justice NV Shravan Kumar directed IOCL to hand over the property to the owners by Oct 5, 2025.

According to the landowners, all siblings, they had leased out their land measuring 1333.33 square yards to IOCL for 20 years. In 2023, when IOCL asked owners for a lease renewal, the owners expressed their unwillingness to renew the lease agreement. However, IOCL again urged the owners to renew the lease, and in response, the owners requested IOCL to vacate premises.

Meanwhile, when IOCL approached the civil court in Karimnagar for specific performance of the renewal clause of the lease, the landowners issued IOCL a legal notice informing them that the lease agreement was terminated by efflux of time and asked IOCL to vacate the premises.

IOCL refused to vacate premises, claiming to be a 'statutory tenant', the owners' counsel claimed, while relying on previous HC orders in similar matters.