A Division Bench of the Andhra PRadesh High Court comprising Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice R. Raghunandan Rao has stayed the release of funds by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) for sanitation and cleanliness works in Tirupati Municipal Corporation (TMC) and directed the latter to file counters in this regard within two weeks.
The High Court also restrained the TTD from releasing the funds even if tenders had been finalised and posted the matter for further hearing after two weeks.
The High Court was dealing with a PIL filed by BJP leader and TTD Trust Board former member G. Bhanu Prakash Reddy, who challenged the sanction of ₹100 crore per annum by the TTD for the said works in four zones of the TMC, insisting that it violated Section 111 of the Andhra Pradesh Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act of 1987 and Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution.
Y. Balaji, counsel for the petitioner, argued in the court that the TTD funds ought to be spent only on the management of the temple and religious activities. He pointed out that the TMC could incur the expenditure on sanitation works out of its surplus budget. The court inquired about the money spent by the TMC on sanitation. It made certain observations thereof and issued an interim order staying the proposed fund release.
