Hyderabad: A division bench of the Telangana High Court, comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J. Sreenivas Rao, on Friday directed the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation Ltd (APTDC) to submit its list of properties before the commercial court, Hyderabad, in relation its dues to a contractor.
The bench was dealing with a petition by APTDC on a dispute, which arose from the agreement it signed on April 15, 2013 with KPC Projects limited for construction of buildings. A disagreement over the terms led to the formation of an arbitral tribunal, which issued an award on December 3, 2022, directing the corporation to pay `3.17 crore along with interest to KPC. The latter subsequently filed an execution petition in the Hyderabad City Civil Court, seeking enforcement of the award.
APTDC, however, objected, claiming that the court had no jurisdiction to entertain the execution proceedings and sought an extension of time to comply with the award.
The executing court rejected APTDC’s objections on December 18, 2024, prompting the corporation to approach the Telangana High Court.
The High Court bench, after hearing both sides, found that the executing court had failed to address the issue of territorial jurisdiction properly. It criticised the lower court for issuing a cryptic order without providing sufficient reasons to justify its jurisdiction over the case. Consequently, the High Court set aside the impugned order and directed the executing court to reconsider APTDC’s objections regarding territorial jurisdiction with a detailed, reasoned order in accordance with the law.
