HYDERABAD: A division bench of Telangana High Court on Monday directed the State government to explain the aspects that led to the Cabinet taking a decision to demolish Errum Manzil and to construct a new State Assembly building in its place.
The bench also directed the government to inform as to when it has taken possession of the building and to place all relevant material before it for examination. The bench was dealing with batch PILs filed challenging the government’s decision to demolish Errum Manzil, a heritage structure in the city.
Senior counsel D Prakash Reddy, appearing for one of the petitioners, contended that the State government has no power to repeal Regulation 13 from the HMDA Act, vide GO 183 dated December 17, 2015, since its inception.
No rule or Regulation can be brought out with retrospective affect unless the Parent Statute (HUDA Zoning Regulation Act 1981) specifically provides for it, he noted and cited various Supreme Court judgments to strengthen his argument. After hearing submissions of the senior counsel, the bench posted the matter to Tuesday to hear the government’s version on the issue.