CJI recuses himself from Amaravati capital case, Jagan may move camp office to Vizag soon

Stating that it would not be appropriate to take up the hearing on the Amaravati issue, the CJI said he was recusing himself from the case.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday deferred the hearing in the Andhra Pradesh government’s petition challenging Amaravati as the only capital of the state after Chief Justice of India (CJI) Uday Umesh Lalit recused himself from the case.

CJI Uday Umesh Lalit (PTI)

The CJI invoked the “not before me” provision soon after he led a two-judge bench to hear a special leave petition (SLP) filed by the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP)-led Andhra Pradesh government, which intends to form three capitals for the southern state.

The matter was earlier listed before a three-judge bench, but in the morning itself one of the judges Justice S Ravindra Bhatt made himself unavailable to the case, after which only two-judge bench comprising the CJI and Justice Bela Trivedi took up the petition.

However, as soon as the matter came up for hearing, a senior counsel representing Amaravati farmers brought to the notice of the court that CJI Lalit had given legal advice to Jagan Mohan Reddy on various issues before 2014 when he was a senior lawyer in the Supreme Court.

Stating that it would not be appropriate to take up the hearing on the Amaravati issue, the CJI said he was recusing himself from the case. He, however, said he would refer the case to a separate three-judge bench and asked the registry to take steps in that direction.

Deferring the case till a new bench is constituted, the outgoing CJI refused to fix the date for next hearing, but said he would ensure that the case was disposed of at the earliest.

The YSRCP-led government had filed the SLP on September 17, challenging the March 3 judgment by the state’s high court that upheld Amaravati as the only capital of Andhra Pradesh while declaring that the state legislature had no competence to pass any legislation forming the three capitals.

Stating that it was committed to decentralisation of governance by forming three capitals – executive capital at Visakhapatnam, legislative capital at Amaravati and judicial capital at Kurnool — the state government said it had all the powers to reorganise its capital.

The government also challenged the high court’s observation that the state legislature has no legal competence to pass the legislation on three capitals, saying it was in contravention of the principle of separation of powers between various organs of governance, which is a basic structure of the Constitution.

The development comes at a time when the YSRCP has stepped up its campaign for establishment of three capitals for Andhra Pradesh.

The ruling party has been organising a series of workshops, round table conferences, rallies and public meetings across the state to mobilise support in favour of its three-capital agenda. The party has formed separate joint action committees in north-coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema involving a cross section of people, including academics, intellectuals, NGOs, trade associations, business groups and social organisations.

The YSRCP has also held a series of meetings of its party leaders — including MLAs, assembly constituency coordinators and party district presidents — and instructed them to take the three-capital agenda to every nook and corner of the state.

“Decentralisation and comprehensive development of the state through formation of three capitals is our only target,” said senior leader and advisor to the state government (on public affairs) Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy.

He further said that YSRCP leaders should take the message strongly to the people that former chief minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu’s Amaravati capital was “nothing but a real estate venture” for 29 villages.

“It is a mirage which will never become a reality, he said. “Naidu has chosen Amaravati as the capital for his selfish reasons and to loot the state.”

On October 15, the YSRCP held a massive rally attended by thousands of people in support of three capitals at Visakhapatnam, follwed by another rally at Tirupati on October 29. On Tuesday, a similar rally was being held at Kurnool by the Rayalaseema Joint Action Committee, demanding that the high court be shifted to Kurnool, which should be declared as the judicial capital.

Meanwhile, YSRCP leaders have indicated that chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy was likely to move his camp office to Visakhapatnam and run the state’s administration from there.

“Irrespective of the outcome of the arguments in the Supreme Court, Jagan is most likely to shift his camp office to Visakhapatnam soon,” a senior YSRCP leader said, requesting anonymity. “Once he shifts there, the entire cabinet will also have to operate from there.”

If the Supreme Court grants stay on the high court’s March 3 order, the shifting of executive capital to Visakhapatnam will be done without loss of much time, he said. “Even otherwise, Jagan has decided to move to Visakhapatnam.”

State industries minister Gudivada Amarnath said in all probability, the state administration would move to Visakhapatnam by next academic year. “There is no doubt about it. We are confident of crossing all the hurdles by then,” he added.

Last week, the Jagan Mohan Reddy while talking to a newspaper in Vijayawada had said that as the chief minister, he can operate from anywhere in the state. “Wherever the chief minister operates, it will be the seat of administration. His cabinet ministers will also function from there and the state secretariat will have to be there,” he had said.

Stating that he had chosen Visakhapatnam as the executive capital for administrative convenience and financial viability, Jagan had added that nobody could decide from where the chief minister shall function. “There is no need to spend lakhs of crores of rupees to develop the capital, as is required in Amaravati. By spending mere ₹5,000 crore to ₹10,000 crore, Visakhapanam can emerge as a world-class capital city,” he had said.