Hyderabad: A two-judge bench of the Telangana High Court, comprising Justice Abhinand Kumar Shavili and Justice Namavarapu Rajeshwar Rao, made it clear that the selection of nearly 6,000 SCT (stipend cadet training) service in the TS Special Police will be subject to a batch of writ pleas before the court. The bench was dealing with the claims of approximately 94 aspirants challenging GO Ms No. 46. Under the impugned notification, the Telangana State-Level Police Recruitment Board proceeded to treat the district as a local unit for the cadre. Senior counsel G. Vidyasagar pointed out that the selection notification issued in April 2022 was contrary to law. Various posts in the police cadre were divided into separate units like state, district and two contagious districts, while the law, according to the petitioners, would require consideration of ‘contagious district as a unit.’ The board erred in considering the district as a unit. Earlier, while in one matter an interim order was granted, in another matter an interim order was refused on the grounds that the petitioner had approached the court belatedly. Advocate-General B. Sudarshan Reddy informed the court that since the selections were over, there was no tearing hurry to hear the matter and accordingly sought an adjournment. Adjourning the matter, the bench made it clear that the selections and the process thereafter and all steps taken by the government in this regard would be subject to pending writ pleas.
GHMC action deplorable: HC
Justice T. Vinod Kumar of the Telangana High Court deplored the GHMC’s demolition of a house in Puranapul in the city for the purposes of road widening without recourse to law. The judge was dealing with a writ plea filed by G. Yadagiri and another.
Justice Vinod Kumar found that the authorities have “now initiated steps for acquiring the land of the petitioners and for payment of compensation…” He also took note of the fact that initially, the authorities had denied the entitlement of the petitioners. He observed that “The change in the stand of the respondent authorities only goes to show that the authorities initially intended to deny the petitioner of his right over the property and also the payment of compensation for land and building without taking steps for acquiring the same under the provisions of the Act. This court has come across numerous such instances, where the municipal authorities, in the name of undertaking development activities, are initially claiming that the land is either of the government or the construction made thereon being encroachment without appreciating that it is the state which is required to pay compensation for undertaking development activity by acquiring the land, if any, required, and it is not the concerned officials who are required to pay the said amount to the affected parties, however, are resorting to high handed and arbitrary action compelling a citizen to knock the doors of this court”.
The judge directed the civic body to name the concerned authorities responsible for the said action for appropriate action and posted the matter to March 13.
Jalagam Prasad seeks resumption of police protection
Justice C.V. Bhasker Reddy of the Telangana High Court took on file a writ petition of former minister Jalagam Prasad Rao seeking police protection. He said that he had played a pivotal role in bringing down the Naxal movement when he was a minister during the Congress regime. He contended that he had recently received WhatsApp warning calls from various mobiles and apprehends that extremist groups are therefore a source of threat to his life and family. The petitioner pointed out that police protection was given to him for nearly three decades and was unilaterally withdrawn without assigning any reasons. He complained that despite making a representation for police protection, there was no action from the respondent authorities. Justice Bhaskar Reddy required the government to respond to the said writ petition.
Own up ATR with affidavit: HC tells PCB
A two-judge panel of the Telangana High Court, while taking a status report on pollution in Suryapet, required the Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB) officials to file an affidavit in support of the status report. The panel, comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J. Anil Kumar, were dealing with a writ plea by Dharavath Bharath Kumar complaining of pollution at the instance of Suven Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences P Ltd in Vasram thanda, Suryapet. Counsel, appearing for the PCB, informed the court that they were monitoring the functions of the industries and found no violation of environmental laws. The status report, the panel said, must be owned up by a stated official and therefore required the board to ensure that an affidavit supporting the report is filed in the court within a week. The court pointedly asked the counsel whether the board was following the guidelines that it had formulated.
