Southern States - Andhra Pradesh-Hyderabad   

'Declare action of Governor unconstitutional'

By Our Legal Correspondent

HYDERABAD NOV. 17. Further arguments in the writ petition filed challenging the decision of the State Cabinet for dissolution of the Assembly and consequential decision of the Governor dissolving the House will be heard by the Division Bench comprising the Justice Devinder Gupta and Justice G. Rohini on Tuesday.

The bench on Monday afternoon inconclusively heard S. Ramachandra Rao, counsel for R. Krishnaiah, President, AP Backward Classes Welfare Association, the petitioner. The petitioner sought a prayer to declare the advice given by the Cabinet on November 14 and the action of the Governor dissolving the Assembly and requesting Chandrababu Naidu to continue in office along with his colleagues as unconstitutional and violative of Article 172 and 174 of the Constitution.

These two articles deal with duration of the State Legislature and sessions of the State Legislature prorogation and dissolution.

The petitioner claimed that this writ petition was filed in public interest as the decision taken by the Cabinet to dissolve the Assembly is mala fide.

The petitioner wondered that it is strange that in the current drought situation the Government had chosen to go to the polls and furnished a list of the decisions of the Telugu Desam Government distributing largesse to the people.

Citing various Supreme Court decisions the petitioner said that the legislators are being deprived their right to represent their constituencies till September 2004.

Mr. Ramachandra Rao sought a direction to the Election Commission not to take any further steps towards holding elections pending disposal of the writ petition and further direction to Union Government to exercise the power of Article 356 of the Constitution.

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