Hyderabad: The Hyderabad High Court on Wednesday made its displeasure clear to the secretary of the Board of Intermediate Education of TS and the State Bank of India for freezing the bank account of the Board of Intermediate Education of AP.
A division Bench comprising acting CJ Dilip B. Bhosale and Justice S.V. Bhatt pulled up the secretary and the SBI for freezing the Board’s account in Shanthinagar branch. The Bench asked the official to explain under which law and authority had he written to the bank to freeze the account when the assets and liabilities of the erstwhile APBIE were apportioned as per the Reorganisation Act.
In the morning, the Bench had asked the counsel for the Telangana Board: “How can you stop the operation of the account when there is an agreement for distribution of assets and liabilities?” It told the counsel to ensure the presence of the secretary at 2.15 pm.
When the hearing resumed, the Bench asked the Secretary whether he had acted independently or whether the Cabinet had taken a decision, authorising him to write the letter for freezing the account? He said he acted on the advice of the advocate general of Telangana.
The Bench then asked him to produce the letter. At this juncture, the advocate general of AP said that the TS authorities were trying to imply an earlier HC order with regard to the dispute of accounts of the APSCHE to the accounts of BIE by wrongly interpreting it.
The Bench asked: “How can you think that orders of the High Court in the case of APSCHE is applicable to all the institutions listed in the 10th Schedule?”
Finding fault with the bank too, the bench said it should have at least sought legal opinion or approached the court.
While adjourning the hearing, the bench asked the Telangana counsels to produce all relevant information before it on Thursday.
