HYDERABAD: Holding that broad, community-wide relief cannot be sought through a writ petition, the Telangana High Court on Thursday advised former minister and Siddipet MLA T Harish Rao to pursue a Public Interest Litigation (PIL).
The order was passed by a bench of Justice Nanda Sureshpally while hearing a writ petition filed by the MLA seeking extending crop loan waiver benefits for farmers across the Siddipet segment.
In his plea, Harish Rao stated that farmers in Siddipet Urban, Siddipet Rural, Chinna Kodur, Nangunur and Narayanraopet mandals were denied benefits under the Rythu Bharosa scheme, which includes crop loan waiver. He argued that the failure to credit loan waiver amounts into farmers’ bank accounts was arbitrary, illegal and violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.
The state government opposed the petition, contending that a writ petition cannot be used to seek relief on behalf of a large group and that such claims must be pursued through a PIL. When the petitioner’s counsel sought permission to convert the plea into a PIL, the government objected, stating that such conversion was not permissible and a fresh petition must be filed.
Recording this, the court permitted the petitioner to withdraw the writ petition and disposed of the matter, granting liberty to file a separate PIL.