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Cockfights: Notice issued to people’s representatives
The High Court issued notices to Repalle MLA Anagani Satya Prasad, MLC Annam Satish Prabhakar, former MLAs Devineni Mallikarjuna Rao and Mummaneni Venkata Subbaiah and certain public representatives who violated court orders in regard to cockfights and associated gambling activity during Sankranti festival.
Hyderabad: The High Court issued notices to Repalle MLA Anagani Satya Prasad, MLC Annam Satish Prabhakar, former MLAs Devineni Mallikarjuna Rao and Mummaneni Venkata Subbaiah and certain public representatives who violated court orders in regard to cockfights and associated gambling activity during Sankranti festival.
The division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice K Vijaya Lakshmi gave these directions on Tuesday while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition filed by Kalidindi Ramachandra Raju of Bhimavaram in West Godavari, seeking ban on cockfights and all the vices associated with them.
The bench had banned them and made DGP and Chief Secretary personally responsible for any violations. Despite this, the violations took place. What irked the bench was the open challenge by several MLAs and public representatives who tried to play to the gallery in the name of public sentiment and spoke before live TV channels that they would violate court orders in respect of cockfights.
The bench gave notices to the public representatives while hearing a connected plea filed by Tadivaka Bhanu Prakash, who complained that the police remained inactive, his counsel U Jaibhima Rao said. Andhra Pradesh Advocate General Dammalapati Srinivas told the bench that no public representatives had organised these cockfights and some of them seemed to have participated and the State cannot take action as they only watched.
He further stated that it was practically impossible to ensure that no cockfights were organised across the districts due to non-availability of such a large number of police personnel. The bench commented that if the government had the requisite will, it could have prevented. The bench also sought a reply from the AG on the two statements of the authorities that they had promulgated section 144 CrPC in all the cockfight areas in East and West Godavari and Krishna districts and on the other hand claimed that people in large number gathered at these places.
How was it possible, when there is 144 CrPC section, more than five people could assemble, the bench asked. “To say that your authorities do not know the names of the public representatives, it is nothing but procrastinating things,” the bench said, while reminding the AG the stern warning handed out to Karnataka Chief Minister by the State’s Chief Justice during popular actor Raj Kumar’s kidnap by smuggler Veerappan.
“If you cannot handle law and order, move out, we will hand over things to someone to do the job” Making it clear to the AG that sensitivity to law is important and not to sentiments, this is precisely the reason why it fixed responsibility on permanent executive (like Chief Secretary and DGPs) rather than political executive which does not want to displease the electorate. It sought an action taken report in respect of Tahsildars.
