VIJAYAWADA: The state government on Friday requested the Andhra Pradesh High Court to take serious note of Public Interest Litigations (PILs) based on rumours and hearsay.
Arguing before the High Court during the hearing on a PIL that accused the government of diverting endowments funds to the Amma Vodi scheme, Advocate General S Sriram said all talk on the street cannot be converted into PILs, and such petitions must not be entertained.
A PIL filed by Chinta Umamaheswara Reddy, from Vijayawada, accused the state government of diverting endowments funds from the Brahmin Welfare Corporation to the Amma Vodi scheme, and the PIL came up for hearing before a division bench comprising Chief Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice K Lalitha.
The Advocate General opposed the matter saying the Brahmin Welfare Corporation was not a part of the endowments department. The endowments commissioner is the HoD of the said corporation and it is just under administrative control, he asserted.
Sriram further pointed out that the GO issued for budgetary grant was not filed with the PIL and the petitioner, being a lawyer, did not show any basis for the plea that endowments funds were diverted to the Amma Vodi scheme. He said the terms of the GO did not speak of any diversion.
The court expressed displeasure with the petitioner, and said it did not find anything wrong with the government’s action. The petitioner’s counsel, Ravi Prasad, wanted the court to issue notices to the government, but the court sought evidence for the allegations. When the court wanted to dismiss the PIL, Ravi Prasad sought adjournment saying he would submit evidence. The hearing was adjourned to September 11.