Andhra Pradesh high court on Monday refused to strike down the petitions challenging the three capitals proposal of the Jagan Mohan Reddy government on the ground that the gazette notification on the repeal of the three capital legislation was yet to be issued.
Though the AP Decentralization and Inclusive Development of All Regions Repeal Bill of 2021 was passed in both the houses of the state legislature on November 22 and 23 respectively, it could not be notified in the gazette as it is still awaiting asset of governor Biswabhushan Harichandan.
The governor, who had recovered from Covid-19 last week, was flown to Hyderabad again on Monday due to post-Covid complications. He is undergoing treatment at a private hospital, where his condition is said to be stable.
The high court bench headed by chief justice Prashant Kumar Mishra adjourned the cases to December 27, stating that it would take up the hearing only after getting a clear picture following the governor’s assent.
State advocate general Subrahmanyam Sriram said there was no relevance to the petitions filed by Amaravati farmers challenging the three capitals, as the state government had withdrawn the earlier laws.
Representing the petitioners, senior advocates Shyam Divan, Jandhyala Ravi Shankar and B Adinarayana Rao argued that the government had repealed the earlier laws on three capitals to disable the high court from proceeding further. They pointed out that the government had made clear its intention to bring in fresh legislation on three capitals in future.
{{/usCountry}}Representing the petitioners, senior advocates Shyam Divan, Jandhyala Ravi Shankar and B Adinarayana Rao argued that the government had repealed the earlier laws on three capitals to disable the high court from proceeding further. They pointed out that the government had made clear its intention to bring in fresh legislation on three capitals in future.
{{/usCountry}}Advocate general, however, argued that the high court cannot take up any pre-emptive adjudication at this stage as the laws were in the domain of the legislature and there was no guidance role for the high court concerning the legislature’s future course of action.
The high court revoked its interim orders that prevented the state government from undertaking developmental works due to the litigation. At the same time, it extended the status quo on its orders that prohibited the shifting of government offices and departments to Visakhapatnam.