Hyderabad, Nov. 12 -- The Telangana High Court on Wednesday, November 11, rejected an appeal by the wife and adopted son of a Jagtial landowner who sought to reclaim a 1,000-square-yard plot in Metpally town that he had willed to a charitable trust, a dispute that has dragged on since 1990.

Justice Suddala Chalapathi Rao held that Chandramma, widow of Admala Laxma Reddy, and the couple's adopted son failed to establish any right over the property, upholding the Endowments Department's claim.

Reddy created the trust through a registered will in October 1989, to fund education and medical assistance for the poor. He died in 1990, and the same year his wife and adopted son went to a civil court seeking a declaration of title, possession an...