Hyderabad, Aug. 19 -- The Telangana High Court has held that a government authority cannot indefinitely hold on to private property without following due legal process, merely because the land has already been put to public use. It directed the state to formally acquire land it used to build the Area Hospital at Bhongir and pay compensation to the owners.

Justice Vakiti Ramakrishna Reddy held that the public purpose served by the hospital could not excuse the state from its constitutional obligation under Article 300-A, the provision that protects a person's right to property by requiring that no one be deprived of it except through lawful procedure, to either acquire the land properly or compensate its owners.

"The public purpose under...