Livestock land: HC refuses writ plea

Hyderabad: Justice C. Sumalata of the Telangana High Court refused to entertain a writ petition on the allotment of 10 acres of land vested with the development livestock agency for other purposes. Around 30 acres in Arsapally village of Nizamabad district were allotted to the agency. However, last month the state government decided to earmark 10 acres of that for a government maternity home, creating sports infrastructure and refurbishing a Muslim graveyard.  Akula Papaya and another moved the High Court questioning the said action. The judge questioned the writ petitioner of their locus to file its petition as they were former executive council member of the agency. The judge voiced a prima facie opinion that the petitioners lacked locus to challenge the action and posted the matter to October 7 for clarification from the petitioner.

Veterinary students’ suspension set aside:

Justice S. Nanda of the Telangana High Court set aside the rustication order passed against eight students of P.V. Narasimha Rao Telangana Veterinary University and directed the college authorities to permit the students to appear for their examinations. P. Avilash and seven others were suspended in October 2022 for ragging first year students, by the impugned order they were permanently banned from using the college vehicles and the hostel and rusticated for one academic year. The petitioners contended inter alia that the anti-ragging committee included a professor who was himself the complainant. It was also contended that even though a committee member was absent, they submitted the report in his absence. They alleged that forced confessions were taken from students. Faulting the procedure, justice Nanda ruled that the complainant could not have been part of the adjudicating authority. “The same is not permissible in law” she said. The court also recorded a finding that no notice was given to the petitioners before imposing the punishment. She observed that the impugned order was contrary to the procedure laid down by the Supreme Court in ragging cases.

HC directs GHMC to give fresh demolition notice:       

Justice T. Vinod Kumar of the Telangana High Court directed that a demolition notice be served as a physical copy. The judge directed the deputy commissioner, GHMC, LB Nagar Circle to issue fresh proceedings in a demolition case. Shaik Jabid Basha, a resident of Vanasthalipuram, filed a writ petition challenging issuance of a show cause notice through web portal and proceeding with the case without considering his explanation. Counsel for the petitioner argued that a show cause notice was issued through a web portal. Subsequent, the petitioner submitted his reply in the office of the respondent by physically being present there. Despite this, the respondents are proceeding with the case on the ground that reply was not submitted by hand and the same is not being updated in web portal. The court after hearing both sides directed the commissioner to consider the reply of the petitioner.

Transfer rules of teachers challenged:

A two-judge bench of the Telangana High Court refused to suspend provisions of the Telangana Teachers Regulation of Transfer Rules at the instance of Runjala Aruna Kumari. The bench of Chief Justice Alok Aaradhe and Justice N.V. Shravan Kumar, however, took on file the challenge to the vires of the rules. By the rules issued in January 2023, the government sought allotment of marks under different heads such as poor health, union activities and posting of spouses while considering eligibility of candidates for transfer as teachers at the start of the academic year. Earlier, in a similar challenge, the bench, as an interim measure, ruled against marks earmarked for union leaders and union activities. P.V. Krishnaiah, counsel for the petitioner, laboured to convince the court of the need to vary its earlier order and ensure stay of the impugned government order. The bench made it clear that it was bound by its own interim order and there were no reasons stated by the counsel to vary the earlier order. However, the challenge to the rules was taken up for further hearing without the benefit of an interim order pending such consideration.

HC refuses relief in contempt appeal:

A two-judge bench of the Telangana High Court on Wednesday dismissed a contempt appeal for wilful disobedience of the order of the court. The bench, comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice N.V. Shravan Kumar, heard the appeal filed by Bhushamma, a 80-year-old homemaker, and two other residents of Bagh Amberpet, Hyderabad, contending that compliance of the court orders was not made due to the age factor The appellants suffered an order of the lower court and the High Court, where they were directed to vacate and hand over possession of a subject property in Secunderabad before March of 2023. Even after an undertaking given to the court, there was no compliance of the orders of the court under the guise of old age and subsequently proceeded with filing a first and second appeals which turned out to be not in their favour. The appellants were put to contempt of court, and a fine of '25,000 was imposed on them along with one-month imprisonment against first appellant, and sentence of three months of imprisonment for appellants 2 and 3. The bench quoting that the law is binding on all of us, dismissed the appeal.