Telangana High Court Suspends Demolition Of Shopping Complex

Hyderabad:The Telangana High Court on Tuesday suspended the threatened demolition of a shopping complex adjacent to a government Hospital at Peddapalli. Justice K. Sarath made the interim order in a writ plea filed by Kishan Prakash Jhawer. The authorities issued notice to the petitioner on May 22, requiring him to vacate the shopping complex. The petitioner was in a build-operate-transfer agreement with the medical department. The lease was entered into in 2007 for 25 years. Counsel Deepak Misra pointed out that the impugned order was politically motivated and made at the instance of the local MLA. The petitioner argued that in July 2024 proceedings were issued to demolish the dilapidated hospital building and for construction of a new structure in its place. It was argued that the impugned order made on May 22 referred to “oral instruction of the MLA”. It was pointed out that such demolition of an independent structure under the guise of rebuilding the dilapidated hospital was bad in law.

HC bars final action on dealer in poll row

A two-judge panel of the Telangana High Court directed the civil supplies department not to pass final orders against one of its dealers for participating in an election campaign. The panel of acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Renuka Yara accepted a writ plea filed by Vachepalli Laxma Reddy challenging Clause 17c of the Telangana State Public Distribution System Control Order, 2008. The order was statutory in nature and made under the Civil Supplies Act. It barred participation in political activities by licensees and dealers. It was the case of the petitioner that a showcause notice was given calling upon him to explain why action should not be taken for his canvassing at an election meeting. The petitioner challenged the provision which banned participation in election activity. The petitioner submitted his reply to the showcause notice in November 2023. The panel pointed out that such a prohibition was no longer res-integra and that it was unsuited to a democracy. The panel accordingly directed the authorities not to pass any final orders without leave of the court if not already made.

Society polls to proceed, rules HC

Justice T. Madhavi Devi of the Telangana High Court refused to grant relief to the Advocates Mutually Aided Cooperative Society Limited while refraining from interfering with the upcoming elections to the society, which are scheduled on July 20. The judge was hearing a writ plea filed by the society challenging the order dated May 7, issued by the registrar of mutually aided cooperative societies, which declined to register certain amendments to its bye-laws. The petitioner-society, represented by its secretary, assailed the impugned order as being contrary to the Telangana Mutually Aided Cooperative Societies Act and violative of natural justice. It was submitted that the general body meeting in which the amendments were passed was attended by 367 members, and the quorum requirements as per Section 11 of the Act and Model Bye-Law No. 18 were satisfied. The proposed amendments included increasing the number of directors, including two women and one SC/ST representative and providing representation for branches at Medchal-Malkajgiri, Kukatpally and Vikarabad. The government pleader contended that the GO dated April 19, 2016, relied upon by the petitioner stood suspended by a division bench and could not be the basis for any mandatory amendment. It was argued that the society’s bye-laws did not specify a quorum for amendments as required under the Act. The judge granted time to the respondents to file their response by June 20 and directed that the matter be listed on June 23. The judge clarified that the society may take a decision regarding postponement of elections, but no directions were issued in that regard.

Miller gets bail in Rs 2.2 cr paddy case

Justice J. Sreenivas Rao of the Telangana High Court granted anticipatory bail to a 50-year-old rice mill owner accused of misappropriating government-allotted paddy under the custom milling rice (CMR) scheme during Rabi 2023-24. The judge was hearing a criminal petition filed by C. Ramesh Kumar. According to the prosecution, during an inspection, officials found a variation of 999.358 metric tonnes of paddy at the petitioner’s rice mill, leading to a loss of over `2.2 crore, besides penalty. It was alleged that the petitioner violated the procurement agreement and failed to deliver the rice to the Civil Supplies Corporation. Counsel for the petitioner submitted that the mill was sub-leased to two other individuals and that a civil suit was filed in March for recovery of dues against them. It was contended that the petitioner had informed the authorities about the sublease and that the de facto complainant, who was aware of this arrangement, was impleaded in the suit. The petitioner argued that he was falsely implicated and assured full cooperation with the investigation. The additional public prosecutor opposed the plea, stating that the petitioner remained contractually liable and the investigation was ongoing. After hearing both sides, the judge granted conditional anticipatory bail to the petitioner.