Union Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju has said that “there is no complete proposal from the State government on shifting the principal seat of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh.”
Replying to a question by TDP Rajya Sabha member Kanakamedala Ravindra Kumar on Thursday, the Union Minister said, “The shifting of the principal seat of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh is decided by the State government in consultation with the concerned High Court. The State government is responsible for meeting the expenditure for running the High Court.”
“Similarly, the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court is responsible for running the day-to-day administration of the court,” he said.
“In the present matter, both the State Government of Andhra Pradesh and the High Court of Andhra Pradesh have to form their opinion regarding shifting of the court to Kurnool and submit a complete proposal to the Government of India. However, there is no complete proposal pending with the Union Government,” the Minister said.
Mr. Kiren Rijiju said the High Court of Andhra Pradesh with the principal seat in Amaravati was established under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, and had been functioning with effect from January 1, 2019.
The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, in February 2020, had proposed shifting of the principal seat of the High Court from Amaravati to Kurnool, he said.
It may be noted that Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy had kicked up a political storm by making an announcement in December 2019 that he intended to have three capitals and went on to pass the A.P. Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill in the Legislative Assembly in January 2020.
However, the concept of decentralisation, of which shifting of the High Court out of Amaravati is a part, is still to take a tangible shape as the issue is pending in court.
