SC notice to AP on plea against Telangana

NEWDELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to  Andhra Pradesh, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, the Registrar General of the AP High Court and the State Bar Council on a petition which stated that normal life in the state, and the administration within the state have been totally paralysed for the past one year because of the agitation for a separate state of Telangana.A Bench comprising Justice G S Singhvi and Justice S Mukhopadhaya directed issuance of the notices and asked the respondents to file their replies.The Bench was hearing the petitions filed by one advocate P V Krishnaiah who sought a direction from the court to the Centre to restrain it from carving out a new state out of the existing State of Andhra Pradesh.The petitioner  felt that the power to carve out a separate state under Article 3 of the Constitution is vested with the Parliament and that the same cannot be done without amending Article 371- d which granted certain benefits of reservation in employment, education and other benefits to the local people.Krishnaiah  stated that the agitation has, apart from totally paralysing  normal life, also severely affected the courts’ functioning in the state. He felt that  only the High Court could escape the brunt of the agitation.Many state government employees and even the police personnel had joined the agitation, he alleged.The PIL filed by Krishnaiah further said that the stir in the form of ‘rasta rooko’(block roads),’rail roko’(stop trains) and disruption of normal work at the public sector Singareni Collieries Limited in Godavarikhani an Ramagundam is causing colossal loss to the public exchequer, and the same amounts to violation of the fundamental rights of the Andhra and Rayalaseema persons, under the Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution, he added.