HYDERABAD: Making its displeasure at the ‘willful disobedience’ known by imposing Rs 2,000 costs each on two officials, a division bench of the Telangana High Court on Monday gave one month for shifting of the fruit market at Gaddiannaram.
The bench, comprising Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice A. Rajasekhar Reddy, imposed fines of Rs 2,000 each on Commissioner and Director of Agricultural Marketing G. Lakshmi Bai and Agricultural Market Committee Secretary Padma Harsha for willful disobedience of its orders under Sections 10 to 12 of the Contempt of Courts Act 1971. and warned them not to repeat such mistakes.
Earlier, the State government had proposed to construct a Super Speciality Hospital in the place where the Gaddiannaram fruit market is located and had decided to close the market from September 26, 2021. Accordingly, the farmers and commission agents were directed to shift to Batasingaram by the end of September.
Aggrieved by this, the Wholesale Fruit Commission Agents Association filed a writ petition before a single judge of the High Court. The petition was rejected and the Association was told to shift within one month.
The Association challenged the order before a division bench, which granted status quo on October 1.
However, the Association filed a petition, accusing the two officials of not honouring the status quo ordered by the court and taking the help of the police to stop them from conducting their business at the fruit market.
In its order on Monday, the division bench said, “We have no hesitation in holding that the purpose for which the existing fruit market at Gaddiannaram is being shifted is a larger public purpose and serve better purpose than for the purpose it is now used. Happiness of the people is the ultimate aim of a welfare State and a welfare State would not qualify as one, unless it strives to achieve the same.”