Hyderabad: Union law minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda said on Sunday he was awaiting a reply from Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu or Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan to his letter asking where the AP government intended to set up its High Court. He said the reason for their not replying to his letter could be that the matter is sub-judice.
Mr Gowda said that unless the Hyderabad High Court passes an order — where the Telangana state government had passed an order — the Centre would not be in a position to move forward on the issue of separate High Courts for both states. Asked about special status for Andhra Pradesh, he said the Centre was committed to it.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 13th convocation of the Nalsar University of Law, the law minister said the TRS MPs’ demand seeking bifurcation of the Hyderabad High Court was legitimate. “I made it very clear on the floor of the House [Lok Sabha] when TRS MPs were agitating for a separate HC and that the present High Court should be for Telangana. Of course, it is true as per the Act, the present High Court should go to Telangana and AP should have a High Court in their own land,” he said.
He explained that providing infrastructure and financial support for the new HC was the responsibility of the AP government. He said he had written to the AP government in June seeking details. The Telangana government has filed a petition in the Hyderabad HC on this issue. "I have written letters to the AP CM as well as the Governor and now the matter is pending before the court.
So far I have not received any reply. Because the matter is pending before the court, they are not in a position to give the reply. I don’t know why the reply has not come to me. At present my hands are tied. Unless and until the court passes the order, I am not in a position to consult the Chief Minister, I can’t talk to the Chief Justice and I can’t talk to the Governor."
