BC enumeration within 3 months to provide quota in local bodies: Govt to HC

Hyderabad: Advocate-General A Sudarshan Reddy on Tuesday informed the Telangana High Court’s division bench of CJ Alok Aradhe and Justice J Sreenivas Rao that it will take two-three months to complete enumeration of BCs in the State for providing reservations to BCs in the local body elections.

The bench recorded his contention and adjourned the writ petition to three months for further adjudication.

The bench was hearing a 2019 writ petition filed by Jajula Srinjvas Goud, President, Telangana BC Welfare Association. His plea is to direct the State government not to hold elections to ZPTCs and MPTCs in until enumeration of BCs is done and direct the SEC not to issue election notification.

HC closes contempt case in PoP Ganesh idol immersion in Hussainsagar as ‘not maintainable’

On Tuesday the division bench of Justices T Vinod Kumar and Jukanti Anil Kumar refused to revive and open the contempt case filed in 2021 and “closed” it on the ground that it is not maintainable.

The bench made it amply clear that the petitioner has to file a fresh PIL challenging immersion of Ganesh idols made of PoP in Hussainsagar lake, but he cannot ask for revival of the contempt case of 2021 in 2024 stating it is not maintainable.

The division bench had passed orders on September 9, 2021 by which the contempt case was closed. This order was challenged before the Supreme Court on the ground that despite the HC orders and a contempt case, the State government had blatantly violated orders by permitting immersion of POP idols in the lake.

Moreover the government gave an undertaking before the SC stating that immersion of PoP idols may be permitted in 2021 as all arrangements were made for immersion and from 2022, the PoP idols will not be immersed.

Recording the contention of the Solicitor-General, the SC closed the contempt case, which the petitioner, Mamidi Venu Madhav, prayed to revive the case and hear it.

The bench comprising Justices Vinod Kumar and Anil Kumar questioned the petitioner why he approached the court with a petition to revive the 2021 contempt case in September 2024. In addition to knowing well that the Ganesh festival will commence in September.. what was he doing in 2022 and 2023, when the idols were immersed in the lake.. why didn’t he approach the concerned officers and question them why they are allowing immersion of idols despite an undertaking given by the government before the SC.

The bench expressed serious concern over the casual manner he filed five interim applications in 2021 contempt case, which was already closed by the SC and said his plea to revive the contempt case cannot be agreed upon and closed the contempt case.

The bench was adjudicating the interim plea filed by social worker and HC advocate Venu Madhav in the contempt case seeking a direction to punish officers violating the court orders.

On September 9, 2021, the HC division bench had passed orders on the writ directing the State government “not to immerse Ganesh idols made of Plaster of Paris’ in Hussainsagar.