HC takes up two PILs; Govt seeks 3 weeks to file status report on criminal cases against MLAs & MPs

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court’s division bench of CJ Alok Aradhe and Justice T Vinod Kumar on Friday adjudicated the two Suo Motu PILs, one which is taken up by the HC upon the directions of the Supreme Court in writ petition (civil) (Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay & others Vs., Union of India and others), which directed the HC to expedite disposal of criminal cases pending against the elected MPs and MLAs of Telangana.

The other (PIL) filed by Chegondi Venkata Harirama Jogaiah, from West Godavari district, seeks a direction to the Principal Special Judge for CBI cases, Nampally to proceed / conclude trial of criminal cases pending against Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, former CM of Andhra Pradesh.

Additional Advocate-General Imran Khan, while appearing for the State government in the Suo Moto writ taken up by the HC upon the directions of the SC for expeditious disposal of criminal cases pending against the MPs and MLAs in Telangana, sought another three weeks’ time to file a status report with regard to progress in the designated courts hearing the cases.

While hearing the PIL filed by Jogaiah, the court asked the petitioner to comply with the orders passed by it on August 20, 2024. Hearing in the case was adjourned by three weeks.

Writ to suspend GO 99 on HYDRA; hearing adjourned to Sept 19

On Friday the Telangana HC single bench of Justice Kunuru Lakshman adjudicated the writ filed by D Lakshmi of Tower 5, Prestige High Fields Apartments, Nanakramguda, and directed the government counsel to come with all details pertaining to HYDRA, its duties, legal sanctity. It adjourned the hearing to September19.

Justice Lakshman, during the hearing, expressed serious concern and dismay over the procedure adopted by HYDRA in carrying its works, when there is no legal sanctity to it because it is established by way of an executive order, GO 99 dated July 19, 2024 issued by the Chief Secretary. When an executive order is issued it should align with statutory provision, which is missing in the issue. The impugned GO empowers HYDRA with powers possessed by the GHMC; the GHMC Act does not permit the government to delegate its statutory powers to any other authority.

The petitioner pleaded that the HYDRA team had barged into her property in survey nos 119/21 and 22, Aliapur village, Ameenpur mandal, Sangareddy district, without notice or decree or order and went on a demolition spree of rooms. She sought a direction to restore the demolished structures.

Her counsel informed the court that HYDRA is illegal; it should be scrapped as its establishment is not backed by legal sanctity; it is working in clear violation of the terms and conditions furnished in the GO.

Hearing in the case adjourned to September 19.

Suo Moto writ on phone-tapping adjourned by two weeks; Registry asked to tag another similar writ

The HC division bench of CJ Alok Aradhe & Justice Vinod Kumar on Friday adjudicated the Suo Moto writ taken up by converting a media report. In this writ the division bench on June 4, 2024 had issued notices to the Union Home Secretary, Chief Secretary TG, DGP, Principal Secretary, Home, Additional DGP, Intelligence and CP Hyderabad, directing them to file their counter response to the notices.

In response to the notices, the Principal Secretary Home, who is the competent authority to file an affidavit, informed the court the progress of investigation in the phone-tapping case. It is pertinent here to mention that the CJ bench had restrained the media “not to mention names of judges, their family members and their cell numbers” while reporting on the subject.

On Friday Imran Khan, Additional Advocate-General, informed the court that the State government has filed a report on the progress of investigation in the case.

Rachna Reddy, senior counsel, informed the bench that a writ filed by Chintala Ramchandra Reddy, State BJP vice-president, seeking a direction to the CBI to probe into the phone-tapping case was adjudicated by Justice Bollam Vijaysen Reddy. The judge had directed the Registry to tag the writ to the Suo Moto PIL which is adjudicated by the bench comprising CJ Aradhe and Justice Vinod Kumar. Hearing in the case was adjourned by two weeks.