Telangana High Court Questions Petitioner Challenging MLC Venkatrama Reddy’s Status
Telangana High Court directs state to report on diet quality in government hostels
Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Friday questioned a petitioner who had challenged the continuance of former IAS officer P. Venkatrama Reddy as member of the Legislative Council (MLC), for not annexing documents to prove that there were violations in accepting his voluntary retirement from the All India services (AIS). The court asked the petitioner J. Shankar of Dharmapuri why he had simply filed a petition with papers obtained under the RTI Act, without annexing documents.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin said that unless the pleadings and supporting documents were placed before the court, it could not go ahead with the hearing. On the request of the petitioner`s counsel Ramesh Chilla, the court gave him three weeks time to furnish the documents.
Shankar had filed the complaining that Venkatarama Reddy, former district collector, was ineligible to hold the office of MLC, on the ground that his voluntary retirement was not approved by the Union department of personnel and training. The petitioner submitted that the then BRS government had accepted Venkatarama Reddy’s resignation within no time and proposed him as a candidate for the MLC election from the party. He requested the court to declared his election as void ab initio (from the beginning).
During arguments on Friday, Desai Avinash Reddy, senior counsel appearing for Election Commission, submitted that the poll panel has limited role in this issue. He submitted that the Electoral Officer had approved Venkatarama Reddy`s nomination papers following scrutiny. He submitted that the state government in November 2021 had issued orders accepting Venkatarama Reddy’s voluntary retirement and these had been never challenged.
Avinash Reddy further submitted that Section 16(2) of the All India Services (Death and Retirement) Rules clearly stated that after giving three months’ previous notice in writing to the state government concerned, the AIS officer may retire from service on the date on which such member completes 30 years of qualifying service or attains 50 years of age or on any date thereafter to be specified in the notice. He also noted that no member of the service under suspension shall retire from service except with the specific approval of the Centre.
Telangana High Court Employees Association Leaders Elected to All India Federation Posts
The Telangana High Court Service Employees Association president S.M.P. Quadri and secretary E. Nishanth Reddy were elected as senior vice-president and deputy secretary-general , respectively of the All India High Court Employees Federation. The national annual meeting and elections of the federation were conducted two days ago at Patna, Bihar. S. Shamugou Singh of Manipur High Court was elected president of the federation and Asif Iqbal Mahajan of the J&K and Ladakh High Court as secretary-general. The newly elected office bearers would lead the federation in addressing the concerns and welfare of High Court employees across India, according to a statement.
Telangana High Court Directs State to Report on Diet Quality in Government Hostels
The Telangana High Court has directed the state government to furnish a detailed report on the diet menu and quality standards in government hostels, schools, residential, and Gurukul schools. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin was dealing with a PIL filed by K. Akhil Sriguru Teja, complaining about the non-compliance with the guidelines issued by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) in standalone hostels and hostels of educational institutes of the government.
Advocate Chikkudu Prabhakar, representing the petitioner, argued that food safety standards were not being maintained. He submitted that around 111 students reportedly fell ill after consuming a meal in a single school. Additional advocate-general (AAG) Mohammed Imran Khan described the incident as unfortunate and submitted to the court that action had been taken against the persons held responsible for the incident.
The court questioned whether the meals and diet meet the nutritional requirements of children. The AAG informed the bench that the government had increased the diet charges and funds. Further, the government had proposed to revise the budget allocation, which was under consideration. He submitted that a new government order would be issued shortly in this regard.
Imran Khan informed the court that the state was collaborating with the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) to develop standards for food safety and staff training in government hostels and residential schools. Officials were instructed to ensure adherence to quality standards, with a commitment to dismiss those found guilty of negligence in supplying unhygienic food. He also explained that the state government is working to rectify irregularities and improve the overall welfare of students in residential institutions.
The AAG also mentioned that the state government was planning to establish 1,100 more Gurukul schools. The High Court, stressing the importance of students' welfare, adjourned the hearing for three weeks.
