Centre challenges Supreme Court order on Andhra Pradesh High Court location
New Delhi: The Centre has moved the Supreme Court challenging the order of the Hyderabad High Court directing the Union of India to locate a site for setting up a permanent High Court for Andhra Pradesh within that state. The High Court had also asked the Chief Minister and the Chief Justice to take a decision in this regard within six months.
In its appeal, the Centre said the review petitions against this verdict had been awaiting disposal for over two years and this has an adverse effect in the administration and healthy relations between the two Telugu states. He said while the executive and legislative wings in the two states had been divided, bifurcation of judiciary was yet to take place even after four years.
Squarely blaming Andhra Pradesh, the Centre said the Union government had released Rs 500 crore on March 31, 2015 to the state for construction of Raj Bhavan, High Court, Secretariat and Assembly building. However, till date no effective step in this regard was taken up AP, thereby creating hostility in the working relations of two states, it said.
The Centre said it would not only be just and proper, but also in the interest of justice that the state of Telangana ought not to be denied its own High Court for an indefinite period on account of lack of efforts by AP. It said under the Reorganisation Act of 2014, there is no bar that pending construction of a new High Court within the territory of AP, the existing common High Court at Hyderabad for the states of AP and Telangana be divided into two High Courts.
The Centre said the finding of the Hyderabad High Court that the permanent High Court for AP should be constructed only within the territory of that state could not be sustained.
A separate High Court for both the states has become imperative and indispensable to provide focused attention to the justice delivery system, which is essential for the unhindered growth of Telangana.
The Centre pointed out that of the total cases pending, only one third belonged to Telangana while the rest belonged to AP and disposal was being delayed because of non-bifurcation. Hence it prayed for a direction to allow division of the existing High Court into two as High Court of Andhra Pradesh and High Court of Telangana. As there are 47 court halls in the existing building such a division is feasible, it said and prayed for quashing the impugned order.
