Telangana HC: Law Admissions Shall Be Concluded by July

 Hyderabad: A two-judge panel of the Telangana High Court, comprising Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice K. Sarath, emphasised that all counselling and admission processes for LLB, LLM and other law courses must be completed before July every year, in line with University Grants Commission (UGC) norms. The panel directed authorities to strictly adhere to the guidelines issued by the UGC and the Bar Council of India (BCI). The decision came in response to a writ petition filed by A. Bhaskar Reddy, who challenged the inordinate delay in the admission process ontrary to UGC guidelines and sought directives to ensure strict adherence to academic calendars. The panel, while noting that admissions for the current academic year had already concluded, instructed the respondents to ensure that future admission processes strictly comply with UGC and BCI guidelines.

Stay extended in hostel case

Justice N.V. Shravan Kumar of the Telangana High Court extended an interi order staying the suspension of a businessman from his position as trustee of the Munnuru Kapu Vidyardhi Vasathi Gruham in Kachiguda, Hyderabad. The judge was hearing a writ plea filed by Dadvey Raghavender, who contended that the suspension was a retaliatory act following his filing of a case with the endowments tribunal seeking recognition as a member of the founder family. The petitioner argued that the suspension, issued on September 5, 2023, by the trust’s self-styled chairman, was arbitrary and contravened provisions of the Telangana Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act, 1987. He contended that the suspension lacked evidence of any misconduct or adverse actions against him. After reviewing the suspension order and related documents, the judge on an earlier occasion found the actions unjustified, noting that no allegations of wrongdoing were cited against the petitioner. Consequently, the judge extended the interim order staying the suspension order. The matter is posted for further hearing in two weeks.

HC admits writ on land compensation

Justice T. Vinod Kumar of the Telangana High Court accepted a writ plea challenging the inaction of the revenue divisional officer (RDO) and land acquisition officer (LAO) of Bellampally, Mancherial district, in not considering an application for re-determination of compensation amount in respect of land acquired. The judge is hearing a writ plea filed by Barla Ankulu and 21 others, seeking enhancement of compensation based on a civil court order passed on July 7, 2022, by the Senior Civil Judge, Asifabad. The issue was about the acquisition of the land of the petitioners in 2003. According to counsel for the petitioners, three of the landowners obtained enhanced compensation through a civil suit in 2009, and the remaining petitioners submitted applications under Section 28A of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, the same year, seeking similar enhancement. The core issue before the judge was whether these Section 28A applications were filed within the

prescribed three-month period following the 2009 civil court order. The assistant government pleader argued that the petitioners were not parties to the original civil suit and could not claim the enhanced compensation. The judge observed that Section 28A allowed all affected landowners to seek enhancement, irrespective of their participation in the civil suit, provided they submitted their application within three months of the order enhancing compensation. The judge was informed that the original award for the land acquisition was issued on April 15, 2003. Taking note of the submissions, the respondents sought a week's time to file a detailed response. The judge accordingly posted the matter for further hearing.

Retain CCTV footage in drugs case: HC

Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy of Telangana High Court directed the Meerpet station house officer and the incharge of the police Command and Control Centre to retain CCTV footage of the police station concerning an offence under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS), 1985. The judge was dealing with a writ plea filed by Nikita Bhati, alleging that Meerpet SHO came to the petitioner’s family shop and concocted a story falsely implicating her husband for offences under the NDPS Act, alleging possession of 400 gm of opium. The petitioner alleged that the actions of the respondent authorities were illegal and arbitrary. The petitioner sought a direction against the respondent authorities to produce the DVR and CCTV recordings of the police station without deleting the footage for a fair and transparent investigation.