High Court seeks Telangana government reply on Errum Manzil
The bench reminded civil society of its responsibility and rights instead of stressing that the court act beyond its jurisdiction.
Hyderabad: Reminding that civil society has more rights to ask the government or the Cabinet than the judiciary, the Telangana High Court said on Thursday that it cannot go beyond its jurisdiction in directing the government to submit an explanation as to how the Cabinet had taken a decision to demolish the Errum Manzil palace to build the new Assembly building .
The division bench comprising Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice Shameem Akther was dealing with several PILs and a writ petition challenging the impending demolition of Errum Manzil.
With counsels and the petitioners requesting that the High Court intervene in the issue and direct the state to stop the demolition, the bench said that it will definitely intervene if it is shown that government has deviated from the law.
Justice Chauhan observed, “If you want the Telangana High Court to lay down the new law in intervening in government`s or Cabinet decisions, then you should assist the court in laying down which law or case law was violated.”
The bench reminded civil society of its responsibility and rights instead of stressing that the court act beyond its jurisdiction.
While hearing the writ petition filed by the legal heirs of Nawab Safdar Jung Musheer-ud-daula Fakhrul Mulk, who built the Errum Manzil
building, the bench directed the Centre and the state government to file their counter affidavits on the contentions raised by the petitioners.
The petitioners said civil suit no. CS 9/1 of 1951 pertaining to the acquisition of land of Safdar Jung, including the land of Errum Manzil, is pending in the court and the state government, despite fully being aware of the fact was going ahead with its decision to demolish the heritage structure and this was contrary to law.
Mr Nalini Kumar, counsel representing the Deccan Archaeological and Cultural Research Institute from Suryapet, informed the bench that though the government had, all of a sudden, deleted Regulation 13 of the Telangana Heritage (Protection, Preser-vation, Conservation, and Maintenance) Act, 2017 based on which the state was going ahead with the demolition, it is necessary to obtain specific clearance from the HMDA, after consulting the Heritage Conservation committee before using the land for other purposes. The government had not done this.
The court adjourned the cases to Friday for further hearing.