HC directs EC to provide ‘nazari naksha’ of Chevella LS segment to candidate Konda

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court’s division bench--comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Jukanti Anil Kumar—on Wednesday directed the secretary, State Election Commission, to provide the ‘nazari naksha’, showing houses with door numbers pertaining to the Chevella LS constituency to former MP Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, an aspiring candidate, on payment of requisite charges to the State Election Commission and disposed of the writ petition.

Avinash Desai, standing counsel for EC informed the court that all parties have been supplied with the draft photo electoral roll- 2024 along with the map showing the area covered under each polling station, containing a rough sketch, called ‘nazari naksha’. He said the petitioner will be provided with it on payment of requisite charges.

The bench was adjudicating the petition filed by Reddy, seeking a direction to the TS Election Commission to provide him ‘nazari naksha’ of the constituency, from where he intends to contest the ensuing elections.

The petitioner, through senior counsel L Ravichander told the court that due to non-disclosure of the ‘nazari naksha’ with door numbers, adequate manipulation of voters list is taking place as untrained and semi-literate persons are engaged in revision of the voter list. The petitioner said 1.65 lakh fake voters exist in the Hyderabad LS constituency (Nampally, Karwan, Charminar, Chandrayangutta, Yakutpura, Bahadurpura Assembly segmemnts) and that 2.4 lakh fake voters exist in the Chevella constituency, mostly in Maheshwaram.

HC fumes over functioning of officials at TPCB; CJ asks AA-G Imran Khan to look into issue & take suo motu action

The HC division bench came down heavily on D Krupanand, joint chief environmental engineer, Telangana State Pollution Control Board, Umanagar, Begumpet and quashed the show-cause notice dated January 23, 2024 issued by him to Regal Sales Corporation, Rajendranagar.

Chief Justice Alok Aradhe, while adjudicating the writ petition filed by Frosters represented by its authorised signatory Bhushan Agarwal, who had office at Gagan Pahad, Ranga Reddy district.

The petitioner sought a direction to set aside the show-cause notice of the JCEE, turned towards Imran Khan, Additional Advocate-General and observed : Mr. Imran Khan this is a very sorry state of affairs.. it calls for drastic measures against officials of TPCB. The system in TPCB should be overhauled and make its working transparent…

We have been seeing the conduct of the officers of the TPCB for the past seven months… I (Chief Justice) have been noticing the functioning of TPCB for the past eight months.. some officer issues notice and some other officer will pass an order and he will write that no reply has been filed”.

Though the petitioner had replied to the show-cause notice issued by the JCEE stating that the plastic washing unit does not require consent under the Water Act, Krupanand denied submission of the reply to the notice, which makes it clear that it was issued in flagrant violation of principles of natural justice.

The CJ court said such an action of TPCB officials cannot be sustained in the eye of law; it quashed the order passed by the JCEE and directed the board to assign the work to some other officer, who shall offer an opportunity to the petitioner, hear the plea and pass fresh orders within 15 days.

The court made it clear that the fresh order should be passed within 15 days or else it will take up the issue suo motu contempt against the TPCB officials.

The company is engaged in business to provide job works in bottles. Notwithstanding the availability of an alternative remedy for the petitioner before the National Green Tribunal by an appeal U/s. 33(b) of the Water Act, the court passed orders quashing the show-cause notice as there is violation of principles of natural justice.