NE LEGAL BUREAU
AMARAVATI, AUG 27
The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday further extended till September 21 the status quo on the two new laws that enable the establishment of three new capitals for the state.
A division bench of Chief Justice J K Maheshwari and justices A V Sesha Sai and M Satyanarayana Murthy, which further heard a batch of interlocutory applications filed by the Rajadhani Rythu Parirakshana Samiti and others, extended the status quo and posted the case to September 21.
The extension of status quo puts paid to the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government’s hopes of expediting the process for shifting the state’s Executive Capital to Visakhapatnam.
The Supreme Court had on Wednesday refused to grant any relief to the state government on the high court’s earlier orders in the matter. The bench expressed willingness to conduct the proceedings in the Court, rather than through videoconferencing.
It also discussed with the lawyers on the two sides the possibility of conducting the trial on a daily basis for speedy disposal of over 70 petitions on the subject. The court granted time till September 11 for the state government to file a counter and till the 17th for the petitioners to file their objections, if any.
A contempt petition was filed afresh on Thursday alleging that the state government was going ahead with the construction of a guesthouse at Kapuluppada village near Visakhapatnam.
As the guesthouse construction was also a part of the move to locate the Executive Capital in Visakhapatnam, the petitioner contended that it amounted to violation of the status quo ordered by the High Court.
The bench directed the state Chief Secretary to file a counter on this by September 10. The state government issued a fresh order on Thursday, even as the High Court was hearing the contempt petition, taking the next step for the State Guesthouse construction, transferring 30 acres of land at Kapuluppada village to the Visakhapatnam district Collector. The 30 acres is being taken from the 300 acres that is held by the police department for developing the Greyhounds training centre. “This may be treated as urgent,” Principal Secretary (Political) Praveen Prakash told the departments concerned in an order.
