The hearing of the three capitals cases by the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday is set to take a curious turn due to the unanticipated withdrawal of the AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions and CRDA Repeal Acts by the Government last week and its decision to come up with a new legislation in favour of separate capital cities for legislative, executive and judicial functions.
A full Bench headed by Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra will examine along with its background the AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Repeal Act, 2021 which was passed in the Legislative Assembly on November 22 when the High Court was hearing a batch of writ petitions that challenged the Decentralisation and the CRDA Repeal Acts of 2020. It was ratified by the Council on November 23.
The Acts have been in the eye of a storm since they were approved in the Assembly in July 2020 but referred by the Council to a select committee amidst dramatic scenes viewed from the gallery by the Opposition leader N. Chandrababu Naidu.
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Farmers who gave their lands for the development of Amaravati, approached the High Court seeking justice.
However, the hearing of the cases made no significant progress mainly due to the change of two Chief Justices (J.K. Maheswari and Arup Kumar Goswami) and the sheer volume of material that needed scrutiny.Govt. stand
Regarding the AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Repeal Act, 2021, the Government made it clear that it was actually intended to bring a new comprehensive Bill that will dispel the wrong notions of the aggrieved land-givers and clarify its position on alleged acts of Constitutional impropriety being argued upon in the High Court.
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In the ‘statement of objects and reasons’ for the said Repeal Act, Finance and Legislative Affairs Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy said the Decentralisation and CRDA Repeal Acts were in line with the long-cherished promise of the Sribagh Pact and the development of backward areas, including Uttarandhra.
It was also mentioned that the Acts also took due note of the periodic regional agitations that eventually led to the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.