Telangana given time to set up Endowments Tribunal

Justice C V Nagarjuna Reddy of the High Court at Hyderabad on Friday granted time to the government of Telangana State to constitute the Endowments Tribunal in accordance with law by June.

Principal Secretary of Endowments Shiv Shanker would have to be present before the court to purge himself of charges of contempt, if failed to do so.

The judge made the order in a contempt case filed by Datatreya Navagraha temple of Seethaphalmandi in the city. He had earlier filed a writ plea complaining that the statutory Tribunal had not been constituted thereby depriving persons of their statutory rights of having their grievances addressed by the Tribunal. The order was made last year.

The Secretary had filed an affidavit in December last that the Tribunal would be constituted within eight weeks. When it was brought to the notice of the court that the action had not been taken yet, the judge extended the time till June and said that if it was not constituted even then, the Princpal Secretary would have to appear in person before the court.