Details of farm panels sought
The bench said that it cannot run the government and the petitioners were seeking its intervention where it would not interfere.
Hyderabad: The Hyderabad High Court on Tuesday directed the TS government to give details of its decision to constitute farm panels at village, mandal, district and state levels.
A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice J. Uma Devi was dealing with two separate petitions by U. Manohar Reddy of Nizamabad and C. Satyanarayana Reddy of Ranga Reddy district, challenging GO 39 constituting the panels.
Sarasani Satyam Reddy, senior counsel and B. Rachana Reddy, advocate, appearing for the petitioners said that the government was creating a parallel extra constitutional system akin to the gram panchayat system to function under the aegis of the minister. This, they said, was illegal, arbitrary and unconstitutional and a usurpation of constitutionally-bestowed powers of the gram panchayats.
The bench asked counsels to show whether there was any bar in the Constitution on setting up such panels and any bar from making ministers part of the samitis.
The bench said that it cannot run the government and the petitioners were seeking its intervention where it would not interfere.
The bench directed the state government to file a counter affidavit within three weeks giving details of its decision.