PNS|Vijayawada
The Supreme Court Bench comprising Justice KM Joseph and Justice BV Nagaratna, which was supposed to take up the hearing of capital Amaravati case on Tuesday, did not take it up as it was not listed due to the heavy workload of cases. The Bench posted the case to February 7. In the meantime, another public interest litigation filed by one Mastan Vali of Prakasam district in support of decentralised administration also came up for hearing. It was clubbed with the original petitions and the SLP of the Jagan government.
While the Supreme Court lifted the stay on the six-month time frame fixed by the High Court, it did not grant any stay on the High Court order declaring Amaravati as the only capital. This has become a hindrance to the Jagan government to go ahead with its three-capital plan.
However, the Chief Minister has decided that he would shift administration to Visakhapatnam in the coming months, irrespective of the High Court judgment, since there is no bar on the place of operation by the Chief Minister. Meanwhile, the Amaravati farmers are said to be planning to file a contempt of court petition in the Supreme Court on the Chief Minister’s statement that Visakhapatnam was going to be the capital of the State. They are questioning how the Chief Minister could make such a statement when the issue was in the Supreme Court. This petition is also expected to come up before the bench on February 7, sources said.
