Hyderabad: A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta and Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar of the Hyderabad High Court on Wednesday directed the Telangana state government to spell out its stand on a petition challenging the Ordinance issued by it on August 16, 2014, and the consequential GO terminating the existing agricultural market committees.
M. Tirupathi Rao and six other chairmen of various agricultural market committees in the state moved the plea seeking to suspend execution of the Ordina-nce and the consequential GO.
The petitioners told the court that the government has directed the commissioner and director of agricultural marketing to forthwith appoint person-in-charge for each market committee and to function until the market committee is re-constituted. Sarasani Satyam Reddy, senior counsel for the petitioners, contended that the government has no power to remove all the existing committee members.
The Bench issued notices to the government and asked it to spell out its stand within a week. Court notice to defence official Making it clear that the secretary of ministry of defence cannot delegate his statutory powers to any other person, the Hyderabad High Court has directed the official to fix a date for hearing an appeal by a petitioner and pass appropriate orders by October 7.
Justice B. Chandra Kumar granted interim direction on a contempt case by Ravi Kumar, former adhoc lecturer of National Defence Academy. The petitioner submitted that he had filed a fresh appeal before the authority challenging his termination, based on the court order, but his appeal was dealt by an under secretary instead of secretary.
After hearing the case, the judge said that the secretary is under obligation to deal with the matter himself and statutory powers cannot be delegated to any other person. The judge directed that the appeal shall be disposed off by October 7, failing which the secretary shall appear before the court on the day.
EC gets notice on Allagadda bypoll
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta and Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar of the Hyderabad High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Election Commission of India on a petition seeking directions for conduct of byelection to Allagadda Assembly constituency of Kurnool district.
Bhuma Nagi Reddy, MLA of the YSR Congress, seeking to declare the inaction of the EC in conducting by-election to Allagadda segment as illegal. Shobha Nagi Reddy, wife Bhuma Nagi Reddy, was declared elected in the elections held on May 7, 2014, after her demise in a road accident.
The petitioner submitted that the party candidate, Shobha Nagi Reddy, died in a road accident on April 24 this year and the elections were not postponed as it was not a recognised political party. He said as per Section 151-A of the Representation of the People Act, such a casual vacancy has to be filled up within a period of six months, but the EC did not include the Allagadda segment in the notification issued on August 16 for conducting byelections in all the vacancies in the country. While issuing notices to the EC, the Bench granted three weeks to it for filing the counter affidavit.
