Fight between Iron Ore Giants in Andhra

Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursdaydirected the District Judge of Anantapur to conduct a factfinding enquiry at H.Siddapuram and D.Hirehal mandals on the fact as to who is conducting the mining operations.While dealing with an amendment petition filed by Bellary Iron Ore Private Limited seeking modification of the earlier orders of the court , Justice PS.Narayana asked the District Judge to submit the report within a week.In earlier petition the petitioner had alleged that the manager of the Obulapuram Mining Company Pvt Ltd (OMC) along with about 25 armed personnel trespassed into their mines on January 14 and destroyed the common boundary line and threatened their employees and staff with dire consequences .The court gave direction on January 21 that the Bellary IronOres Pvt Ltd and the OMC to maintain status quo with respect to H. Siddapuram mining area in Ananthapur district.The petitioner urged the court to amend the earlier order and prevent the OMC to carrying minig operations in the area.

Boarder dispute between Iron Ore giants

Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday directed the District Judge of Anantapur to conduct a factfinding enquiry at H.Siddapuram and D.Hirehal mandals on the fact as to who is conducting the mining operations.While dealing with an amendment petition filed by BellaryIron Ore Private Limited seeking modification of the earlierorders of the court , Justice PS.Narayana asked the DistrictJudge to submit the report within a week.In earlier petition the petitioner had alleged that the manager ofthe Obulapuram Mining Company Pvt Ltd (OMC) along withabout 25 armed personnel trespassed into their mines onJanuary 14 and destroyed the common boundary line andthreatened their employees and staff with dire consequences .The court gave direction on January 21 that the Bellary IronOres Pvt Ltd and the OMC to maintain status quo with respectto H. Siddapuram mining area in Ananthapur district.The petitioner urged the court to amend the earlier order andprevent the OMC to carrying minig operations in the area.

AP High Court referred Muslim Quota Bill to a larger bench

A five member bench of the AndhraPradesh High Court on Thursday referred the MuslimReservation Bill case to a seven-member bench. This is the first time that a seven-member bench will beconstituted in the High Court.The bench will examine seemingly contrary observationsin the Archana Reddy case (when the AP High Courtstruck down 5 per cent reservations for Muslims) besides Indira Sawhney and Sourab Chandra cases in the Supreme Court.
While referring the batch of writ petitions filed againstand in favour of the four percent reservations to certainbackward groups among muslim community, a larger bench comprising Justice T Meena Kumari, Justice B Prakash Rao, Justice DSR Varma, Justice A Gopal Reddy and Justice V Eswaraiah made certain observations.
The bench observed: "Since the judgement in ArchanaReddy case emanated from a co-ordinated bench of a five judges of this court and since there is no provision in the Statute for publication of the criteria including the correctness or propriety of any court to lay down any such criteria specifically, the observation as contained in the judgement and other observations made by the largerbench are contrary to the observations made by the supreme court in Indira Sawhney case, wherein it was left open for the concerned authorities to lay down the criteria apart from contrary to the principles laid down inregard to strict scrutiny approach as laid down in Sourab Chandra versus Union of India and also the principles laid down in other decisions of the supreme court".S Satyanarayan Prasad, senior counsel for the BC Commission submitted to the court that the supreme court had left the procedure for identification of backwardness among the various communities and castes to the BC Commission.The batch of cases will now be listed before the Chief Justice who would accordingly constitute a bench for consideration of the questions raised by the five member bench.

Union Govt asked AP High Court to vacate stay on Reliance

The Government of India has requested the Andhra Pradesh High Court to vacate the interim stay on the construction of a pipeline by Reliance Industries Limited to transport natural gas from Krishna-Godavari basin to Gujarat. The HC had issued the stay on November 13, 2007, on a petition by certain persons of Medchal village in Ranga Reddy district who complained that RIL was building the pipeline illegally through their lands.
They had requested the court to set aside as illegal and unconstitutional the provisions of the Petroleum and Mineral, Pipelines (Acquisition of Right of User in Land) Act, 1962 and also sough nullification of the notification issued by the government on their lands.
According to the petitioners, the pipeline was solely meant for business and would not benefit the people of the State. However, the Union government said in its affidavit that the allegations and apprehensions of the petitioners were baseless. It pointed out that natural gas produced in K-G basin would be supplied to consumers in various parts of the country including Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat and added that it was a project of immense national importance.The High Court will hear the case again on February 6.

Media Baron Ramoji still faces trouble from the State

Andhra Pradesh government on Wedenesday filed a criminal complaint in court against media baron Ch. Ramoji Rao and his company Margadarsi Financiers on alleged charges of violation of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1953.
Mr T. Krishna Raju, CID inspector-general of police, said the CID had searched the premises of Margadarsi Financiers on February 21, 2007. The CID team earlier seized incriminating documents, deposit certificates and a hard disc.