Telangana: SC issues notice to Centre on AP’s bifurcation

Hyderabad: The Supreme Court, on Friday, issued notice to Centre on Andhra Pradesh bifurcation petitions filed by former AP Chief Minister Kiran Reddy and others on creation of Telangana.

The bench headed by Justice H.L. Dattu heard the batch of petitions. The apex court favoured interference of a Constitution bench for hearing the issue and said the larger bench can consider whether stay can be granted on bifurcation of the State.

The petitioners contended that the bifurcation of the State is illegal and unconstitutional. They questioned Centre's decision to pass the Bill pertaining to bifurcation of the State in Parliament despite it being rejected by the State Assembly. There are around 18 petitions filed in the apex court challenging the bifurcation of the State

When Kiran Kumar Reddy was in office, the former CM had announced that he will move the Supreme Court against the Reorganisation Bill as there were several technical and legal lapses in it, particularly with regard to the common capital and sharing of water and electricity between the two states.

Since the law requires the Cabinet to accord permission to the Chief Minister to move the court, there was nothing Mr Kiran Kumar Reddy could do then.

Apart from Kiran Kumar Reddy, the YSR Congress MP from Nellore, Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy, BJP leader Raghu Rama Krishna Raju, former MLA Adusum-illi Jayaprakash and M.L. Sharma, an advocate of the Supreme Court, have moved petitions against the bifurcation.

The apex court had dismissed these petitions earlier, in October 2013, on the grounds that they were “premature” as the Bill had not then been cleared by Parliament.

On February 17, too, the Supreme Court refused to grant stay on tabling the Bill and the Bill was passed by both houses of Parliament on February 18 and 20 and the Centre has also announced the appointed date for the new state.

While dismissing the petitions on two occasions, the court had observed that it will examine all the arguments of the petitioners at an appropriate time. The petitioners are hoping that the appropriate time has come now, and they will be heard, as Parliament has passed the Bill and the Centre has announced the appointed date.