A Division Bench of Andhra Pradesh High Court comprising Chief Justice Prasanth Kumar Mishra and Justice M. Satyanarayana Murthy has ordered that State government cannot file further counter in the case relating to nomination of 52 special invitees to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD).
The Bench, while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by TDP leader Madineni Uma Maheshwara Naidu challenging the government’s decision of granting privileges pertaining to darshan and tenure to the special invitees on par with the TTD Trust Board members, on Tuesday extended the stay granted earlier on the nomination.
The High Court posted the matter to June 28 for final hearing.
The petitioner contended that the G.O. Rt. No. 569 pertaining to the case was illegal and arbitrary and that it was issued in violation to the Section 96 of the Andhra Pradesh Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Acts, 1987, and Article 25 of the Constitution.
S. Sudhakar, chairman of Andhra Pradesh Brahmin Corporation, who was nominated as a special invitees filed a petition, requesting the court to allow him to attend the meetings of the TTD Trust Board. Meanwhile, Tirupati MLA B. Karunakar Reddy, a member of TTD Trust Board, also issued an order that Mr. Sudhakar could attend the meetings. The MLA also filed a petition in the High Court in this regard.
Uma Maheshwara Naidu’s counsel Balaji Yelamanjula objected the petition filed by Mr. Sudhakar and argued that the petition should not be allowed on the basis of Mr. Karunakar Reddy’s order. However, the High Court allowed the implead petition, but rejected the plea to attend the TTD Trust Board meetings.
