HYDERABAD: In a significant development, the Supreme Court bench on Monday directed the Central government to issue notification for bifurcation of the existing common high court in Hyderabad basing on the progress of construction of new high court building at Amaravati. The AP government told the Apex Court that the new building for AP High Court would be ready by Dec 15 this year.
The Apex Court bench comprising Justice AK Sikri and Justice Ashok Bhushan was passing this order in a special leave petition filed by the Centre challenging the 2015 judgment of the High Court division bench headed by then Chief Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta which ruled that the high court for AP, whether temporary or permanent, should be set up only on the territory of AP.
During the course of hearing, the bench did not agree with the opinion of senior counsel Fali Nariman, appearing for AP state, for comparing Punjab and Haryana High Court with Hyderabad High Court. The AP Reorganization Act has clearly stated that there shall be separate high courts for both AP and Telangana, the bench reminded.
Senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Telangana state, pointed out that the AP government has been delaying the bifurcation of the existing high court. The AP government claims that it would have new building for interim high court by Dec 15 and that the court staff would be shifted by April.
Further, it says that the accommodation for high court judges and staff would be ready by Aug next year, and a new building to house a permanent high court would be constructed in the Justice City at Amaravati. This delay has been affecting various issues such as appointment of judges, other staff and so on, he noted.Responding to the above submission, the bench said: “We want it to be bifurcated at the earliest.’’