HC takes up writs challenging provisions of Telangana Education Act 1982
Telangana High Court will continue hearing a batch of writ petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Section 20 of the Telangana Education Act 1982, which grants a competent authority the power to approve setting up educational institutions, which the petitioners argue conflicts with the AICTE Act 1987.
The Telangana High Court will continue hearing a batch of writ petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Section 20 of the Telangana Education Act 1982, which grants a competent authority the power to approve setting up educational institutions, which the petitioners argue conflicts with the AICTE Act 1987. Justice K. Lakshman took on file a batch of writ pleas filed by MGR Educational Society, Vidya Jyothi Educational Society, and others, contending that the state authorities were wrongly applying Section 20 to interfere with the approval powers of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). Under Section 10(1)(k) of the AICTE Act, AICTE has exclusive authority to approve new technical institutions and new courses or programs in consultation with the relevant agencies. The petitioners argue that state regulations cannot override AICTE’s decisions, which govern technical education nationwide. The petitioners relied on the Supreme Court rulings affirming AICTE’s supremacy in such matters. Alternatively, they urged the court to interpret Section 20 in a way that limits its application to conducting an educational survey before AICTE considers approvals for new or renewal applications. This, they argue would bring the state law in line with AICTE regulations. The petitioners sought a court directive to recognise their institutions as duly approved for the 2024–25 academic year, including all sanctioned courses. They also urged for instructions for a fresh mop-up counseling round or permission to fill vacant seats through spot admissions. The judge sought a response from the state authorities and posted the matter for further hearing on March 26.
HC quashes criminal case against falsely implicated school teacher
Justice K. Sujana of the Telangana High Court quashed a criminal case against a tribal welfare school teacher falsely implicated in a bank fraud case. The judge was dealing with a criminal petition filed by Nethala Lakshmi Kantham, who contended that she was wrongly implicated for over a decade. The case dates back to 2007 and involves a complex web of deceit and fraud orchestrated by officials of Syndicate Bank and private individuals, resulting in a loss of approximately ₹73 lakh to the bank. The petitioner was accused of being involved in a fraudulent scheme where loans were sanctioned based on false income tax returns and inflated valuation reports. The prosecution alleged that she misrepresented herself as the owner of a business named Laxmi Graphics in Hyderabad, using the name V. Kantham, and obtained loans under false pretenses. Counsel for the petitioner Deepak Misra would argue that CBI officials have falsely implicated the petitioner in the charge sheet and that they have mistakenly identified the petitioner as V. Kantham, despite the fact that the petitioner never used any other name and remained unmarried throughout her life. He argued that she had no connection with the alleged business and was, in fact, working as a teacher in a tribal welfare school at Visakhapatnam. The court noted that the prosecution committed a grave error in identifying the petitioner, leading to her wrongful implication in the case. Justice Sujana observed that there were no sufficient grounds or evidence against the petitioner and her implication was an abuse of the legal process.
Police complaints authorities: State gets last chance to file response in criminal case
A two-judge panel of the Telangana High Court gave a final opportunity to the state for filing their response in a contempt plea alleging that neither the state police nor the district police complaints authorities were functional. The panel, comprising acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice T. Vinod Kumar, is dealing with a plea filed by Mamidi Venu Madhav alleging willful and wanton disobedience of the orders of the court. Earlier, the panel directed the petitioner to file a writ plea qua making the state police complaints authority (SPCA) and the district police complaints authority (DPCA) in Hyderabad region and Warangal region functional. It was contended that though chairman and members have been appointed, the said authorities are presently in a dysfunctional state due to non-appointment of support staff. The panel accordingly directed the respondents to take immediate steps and make the authorities functional by providing office space, support staff and vehicles within two months from June 23, 2023. On Saturday, the additional advocate general sought further time to seek instructions with regard to compliance of the orders.
SI’s plea challenging disciplinary action dismissed
The Telangana High Court dismissed a writ petition filed by a SI challenging the disciplinary action taken against him for allegedly affixing a fraudulent backdated arrival stamp on a passenger’s passport. Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka heard the writ plea filed by V. Raghavulu, who was accused of altering the passport of one D. Venkateshwarlu at an immigration counter in 2007 in exchange for a bribe of $300. The act came to light when the passenger was denied entry at George Bush International Airport, Houston, Texas, in 2009 and was subsequently deported to India. Despite the petitioner’s acquittal in the criminal case registered under various sections of the IPC, the departmental inquiry found him guilty based on the preponderance of evidence. The authorities imposed a penalty, reducing his pay by two stages for two years, which affected his future increments and pension. Additionally, his suspension period was treated as “not on duty.” The petitioner charged that the investigation was biased, key evidence such as CCTV footage was not provided, and the main witness, the passenger, was not examined. However, the judge held that the disciplinary proceedings followed proper legal procedures and were separate from the criminal trial, where the burden of proof is higher. In view of the same, the judge dismissed his writ plea.
School attender gets bail in sexual assault case
Justice J. Sreenivas Rao of the Telangana High Court granted bail to an attender at an ashram school accused in a sexual assault case. The judge dealt with a criminal petition filed by Pendor Sai. According to the prosecution, the accused allegedly engaged in aggravated penetrative sexual assault on a 23-year-old woman over the past year, leading to her pregnancy. The petitioner contended that he was falsely implicated and that the alleged incident occurred two years ago. The counsel for the petitioner argued that he had been in judicial custody since January, the majority of witnesses were already examined, and he was willing to cooperate with the investigation. Considering these factors, the judge granted bail to the petitioner, subject to certain conditions.
