Workers complain of arbitrary action by revenue authorities
Hyderabad: Justice C.V. Bhaskar Reddy of the Telangana High Court took on file a writ plea challenging the action of the revenue division officer (RDO) and tahsildar, Kesamudram mandal, Mahbubabad district, in not allowing six works to construct houses on the land allocated to them under a socio-benefit scheme.
The judge was dealing with a writ plea filed by Vankudothu Kavitha and six others. The petitioners alleged that the RDO and the tahsildar along with police officials were not allowing them to construct houses over land that was allotted to them. The judge, after hearing the plea of the petitioners, observed that as per settled law, once a patta certificate has been issued to the petitioners, the rights over the said land gets conferred to the beneficiaries. This right cannot be taken away without following due procedure, he said. Accordingly, the judge passed an interim order directing the respondents not to interfere in the possession of the petitioners. The judge also directed the respondents to file their reply within four weeks and posted the matter for further hearing.
Petition seeks action against terror outfit
Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy of the Telangana High Court took on file a writ plea challenging the actions of the Director General of Police and other authorities in not registering a case and taking up investigation against a banned terrorist organisation. The judge was dealing with a writ plea filed by Rama Rao Immaneni, advocate. The petitioner alleged that a banned terrorist organisation named ‘Islamic State of Khorasan Province’ was spreading terrorist ideology through its websites styled as ‘Voice Of Khurasan’ and ‘TKD Monitoring the Khurasan Dairy’. The petitioner alleged that the content on those websites had the potential to cause insurgency, communal disharmony, bloodshed, war, sacrilege and civil disobedience apart from being a threat to national integrity. It was the case of the petitioner that despite provisional direction from the CEO of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (ICCCC), no action has been taken by the respondent authorities. During the course of hearing, the government pleader informed that no complaint has been received by the station house officer of Marredpally till date. The government pleader informed that as and when a complaint is lodged, necessary action will be taken. The petitioner undertook to furnish the complaint along with documents to the police. Accordingly, the judge directed the SHO to take necessary action on the complaint of the petitioner and also directed the CEO of ICCCC to take action for removal of objectionable inciting content in the said websites. The matter is also posted for further adjudication.
Plea against EFLU for action in abuse case
Justice K. Lakshman of the Telangana High Court took on file a writ plea challenging the action of the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) in cancelling the admission of a PhD student pursuant to a sexual harassment complaint levelled against him. The judge was dealing with a writ petition filed by Meghdeep Saha, who contended that his admission was cancelled without following the procedure prescribed in the Prevention of Sexual Harassment at Workplace Act, 2013 (POSH Act). The petitioner pointed out that the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) established by the university directly cancelled the admission contrary to the procedure prescribed under the POSH Act. The judge, while orally observing that the university and the ICC were bound by the mechanism under the POSH Act, posted the matter for further instructions of the respondents.
HC not to interdict order in rioting case
Justice Juvvadi Sridevi of the Telangana High court refused to interdict with the remand order of the criminal court in the case of alleged rioters arrested for an incident near a place of worship. The judge was dealing with a bunch of criminal petitions seeking release of various accused persons. Senior counsels J. Prabhakar and others, appearing in the cases, pointed out that while the initial FIR mentioned offences with punishment less than seven years, Section 109 of BNS [attempt to murder] was added with the oblique motive of ensuring that serious offences were added to avoid a statutory notice as directed in Arnesh Kumar by the apex court.
PIL questions water tank in green space
A two-judge panel of the Telangana High Court, comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J. Sreenivas Rao, took on file a PIL challenging the action of Kothagudem municipal commissioner and other authorities in constructing a water tank in a place earmarked for greenery. The panel was hearing the PIL filed by R. Narsaiah contending that the respondent authority was constructing a water tank in a park at Vishwanath Colony, Rajam basti, in Kothagudem. The petitioner alleged that action of the respondent authority was illegal, whimsical and in violation of the Constitution. After hearing counsel for the petitioner, the panel posted the matter for filing of reply by the respondent authorities.