Apex court to examine pleas against Telangana

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to examine several petitions challenging the creation of Telangana, including the one filed by Andhra Pradesh former chief minister Kiran Reddy.

A bench presided over by Justice H L Dattu, however, declined to stay the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh to create Telangana state.

The bench also favoured putting the matter for consideration before a Constitution bench.Reddy, who floated a new political party after his resignation over the issue, called the statute “unconstitutional for being violative of the basic structure of the Constitution of India”.

In a joint petition that he filed with two of his former colleagues, Reddy claimed, “The President, without applying his mind, simply acted on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, headed by the Prime Minister, in introducing the bill in the Parliament after the state legislature returned its resolution dated January 30.”

Reddy has also sought an inquiry into what transpired in the Lok Sabha when the Telangana Bill was introduced, since the proceedings were not telecast.

Besides Reddy’s petition, there are more than a dozen PILs challenging the creation of Telangana. The apex court had earlier refused to entertain these PILs, describing the petitions as “premature”.