Don't Take Coercive Steps Against Telangana: HC To AP

The Telangana High Court today asked the Andhra Pradesh government not to take any coercive steps against the State in the issue of the payment of electricity arrears of Rs 7,000 crore to the AP government.

Referring to the orders issued by the union government asking the Telangana government to clear the arrears, a division bench comprising Justice P Naveen Rao and Justice Sambasiva Naidu said that the orders of the union government were against law as they were issued without any opportunity being given to the Telangana government to present its case.

The bench passed the orders in response to a petition filed by the State government on the issue.

Senior advocate of the Supreme Court Dushyanth Dave argued the case on behalf of the State government while senior advocate C V Mohan Reddy argued the case on behalf of the AP government.

Additional Solicitor General of India Suryakaran Reddy argued the case on behalf of the union government.

The State government told the HC that the union government did not have powers to pass the orders in the issue, and that the Southern Regional Council should take a decision in the issue after holding discussions with the two Telugu-speaking States as per the A P Reorganisation Act.

Stating that the Union Home Ministry had the powers to deal with disputes related to the Reorganisation Act, the Telangana government wondered how an officer of the rank of deputy secretary in the union power ministry had issued the orders.

The Telangana government claimed that the orders were issued by the union government as the ruling party in AP had extended its support to the BJP government at the Centre in the recent election for the President of India.

The AP government said that there was no relationship between the electricity bills generated after the reorganisation of the State and the AP Reorganisation Act, and that the power utilities of Telangana had the responsibility to clear the bills of the APGENCO for the power supplied by it to them.

The AP government told the HC that it generated power by taking loans, and that it would incur losses if the arrears were not cleared by Telangana.

It said that the inquiry held by the Southern Council did not yield any result, and that the Southern Regional Council did not have any legal sanctity anyway.

The counsel for the union government told the HC that the Centre had the power to issue the orders as the power was supplied to Telangana on the basis of the orders issued by it.

Following this, the HC asked the Telangana, AP and union governments to file their counters in the case, and adjourned the matter.