Plea in high court to speed up rescue opserations in Himachal Pradesh

Hyderabad: A PIL was filed in the Hyderabad HC on Wednesday seeking a direction to declare the Union government’s decision not to engage the defense forces, particularly the Navy, for recovering the bodies of the 24 engineering students of VNR Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology, Hyderabad who lost their lives due to the sudden release of water from the Larji Dam in HP as illegal.

P.V. Krishnaiah a practicing advocate of the High Court moved the PIL contending that the action of the Centre was arbitrary, illegal and violates Article 14, and 21 of the Constitution.

He urged the court to direct the Centre to call in the Navy to recover the bodies and also to direct the Centre to formulate a policy on utilising the services of the military whenever such contingencies arose.

The advocate made an attempt in the morning by making a mention before the Chief Justice to take up the matter for hearing, but the Chief Justice declined his request and asked him to file the petition as usual.