VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday directed the State government to file counter-affidavits by April 24 in response to a batch of petitions filed against the ordinance amending the AP Panchayat Raj Act which effectively changed the eligibility, and tenure of the State Election Commissioner. It deferred hearing on the matter to April 28.
The court also directed the newly-appointed SEC Justice V Kanagaraj to file a counter affidavit by April 24. The petitioners were told to file their replies by April 27.A division bench comprising Chief Justice GK Maheswari and Justice M Satyanarayana Murthy, who conducted the hearing via video conference, said final hearing would begin on April 28.
Appearing for the State government, Advocate General Sriram sought one week to file final counter affidavit but the bench rejected his request. The SEC’s advocate SS Prasad also sought three weeks to file the counter affidavit as he was yet to receive copies of the petitions. The bench rejected his request too and directed the court registry and the petitioners to give copies of the petitions to the SEC. Advocate DV Sitarama Murthy, appearing for former SEC Ramesh Kumar, objected to the government’s plea for more time and pointed out that both sides have already submitted affidavits.
Hearing on plea over pensions deferred
The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday postponed hearing on a petition filed against the State government’s decision to pay only 50 per cent pension to retired employees in view of the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing lockdown. It directed the government to file a counter affidavit detailing its powers on the issue of pensions by April 23 and deferred hearing to April 27. The government had issued orders for payment of only half the pension to retired employees on March 31.