No GHMC poll notification till July 23

By S A Ishaqui
Hyderabad,July 16: The advocate-general, Mr D.V. Seetharam Murthy on Thursday told the Andhra Pradesh High Court that no notification will be issued for conducting elections for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation till July 23.

Explaining the stand of the government before a division bench comprising Chief Justice Anil R. Dave and Justice Ramesh Ranganathan, he said the pre-electoral process has been completed to conduct civic body polls.
“The notification is unlikely before July 23,’’ he added.
The judges asked the AG to be specific on whether the notification will be issued either before or after July 23.

The bench was dealing with a batch of writ petitions were filed against the reservation process and discrepancies in the electoral lists and also delimitation of wards and the reservation of wards to Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
The judges said they have decided to hear all the petitions on July 23. If the notification is issued prior to the date, the petitions become infractuous.
The bench reminded that once the notification is issued there is bar to adjudicate the cases.
The judges told the AG that “all the petitions are in admission stage. This court wants to hear them before taking a final decision on them. We want specific information on the date of notification. If the notification is likely to be issued prior to the date, we will take up the hearing on Friday.”
Mr Murthy said he will get back to them after consulting the authorities concerned and a few moments later he told the court that there will not be any notification till 23 and even on that date.

MBBS students can write exam

The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday directed the NTR University of Health Sciences to allow six first year MBBS students to appear for examinations scheduled from July 21.
The court was dealing with a petition filed by Ms Sneha Priya and five others challenging the action taken against them by the university disqualifying them from appearing for examination for shortage of attendance.
The petitioners told the court that they got admission into the course under sports category after the High Court gave a direction in January 2009.
They contended that it was not their fault that the attendance was short and said the University delayed their admission.
The University contended that as per the rules of the Medical Council of India and the directions of the Supreme Court, no admission will be made after September 30 in any academic year.
It argued that their admissions were based on the court order and the MCI had not yet approved their admissions.
However, the court directed the university to allow them to write examination and results will be subject to the final outcome of the petition.

Stay on work given to MLC

The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday granted stay on a contract awarded to Congress MLC, Mr N. Vidyasagar, for removing silt and sand from the bed of Moosi river in Nalgonda district.
The court was dealing with a petition filed by one Mr Krishna Yadav of the distinct challenging the action.
The petitioner contended that the government had no power to give permission for a particular gram panchayat or individual to remove sand and silt and sell it under the guise of de-silting.