The Telangana High Court on Tuesday has issued notices to the Union of India and several state authorities following a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by social activist Bakka Judson. The PIL questions the inaction of the Central Bureau of Investigation in addressing the petitioner’s complaints regarding an allegedly illegal land lease deal involving government officials and a private entity.
The division bench, comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J Sreenivas Rao, issued the notices to the Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions, the Ministry of Tourism, the Government of India, the CBI, and the State of Telangana. The state authorities notified include the Chief Secretary, the Principal Secretaries of the Revenue and Youth Advancement Tourism and Culture Departments, and the Chief Commissioner of Land Administration.
The PIL filed by Judson alleges the officials engaged in illegal and unauthorised activities by leasing out valuable government land. The land in question, a 3-acre plot located in Sy.No.91, Gachibowli, Serilingampally, was allegedly leased to Saptarishi Hotels Private Limited without any legal title or ownership, causing a significant loss to the public exchequer estimated at Rs 159.48 crore.
Judson is seeking a directive from the court for the CBI to conduct a investigation. The court asked the respondents to file responses and adjourned the matter for four weeks.
HC hears challenges to new medical college admission rules in Telangana
A division bench of the Telangana High Court, comprising Chief Justice Aloke Aradhe and Justice J Sreenivas Rao, on Tuesday heard a series of writ petitions filed by aspiring MBBS students challenging the constitutionality of Government Order 33, dated July 19, 2024.
The order amended the Telangana Medical and Dental Colleges (Admission into MBBS and BDS Courses) Rules of 2017, raising concerns among the petitioners about its legality and fairness. The petitioners’ counsel argued that the recent amendments, particularly the addition of sub-rule (iii), were an attempt by the authorities to bypass a binding judgment from a previous writ petition decided in 2023. The counsel highlighted that the 2023 judgment had found certain provisions of the 2017 Rules unconstitutional. Specifically, the court had ruled that Rule 3(III)(B)(b) of the 2017 Rules was not aligned with its intended objectives and could not be justified solely based on a candidate’s study or residence in the local area.
As a result of the 2023 ruling, the rule was modified to allow candidates with a residence certificate issued by the Telangana government to be considered local candidates, thereby expanding eligibility criteria for local status in medical college admissions. The petitioners now contend that the latest amendments are an attempt to circumvent this judgment and reintroduce restrictions that were previously deemed unconstitutional. The court adjourned the session to Wednesday.