Telangana judges moved apex court in 2015 seeking clarity on how judges will be allocated between two states.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court is set to resolve the three-year logjam on the bifurcation of the judiciary between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana based on the domicile of judges.
Even three years after Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh, “historic grievances” are yet to be addressed, claim judges of Telangana in a fresh affidavit filed before the top court.
A bench of justices J. Chelameswar and Abdul Nazeer is hearing a case filed by Telangana Judges’ Association in 2015 seeking clarity on how judges will be allocated between two states.
“The entire purpose and objective of the creation of the state of Telangana was to redress historic discrimination faced by the residents of Telangana of being denied their fair share of representation in the matter of public services, education and in the matters of governance,” the petitioners said in the affidavit.
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana share a common high court in Hyderabad and will continue to do sountil a separate high court is set up in Andhra Pradesh.
Only 25 per cent of the lower judiciary is from Telangana, the association claims. Since high court judges are selected mostly from the lower judiciary, there is inadequate representation even in the higher judiciary.
The central government had set up the C.R. Kamalanathan Committee in 2014 to lay down guidelines for allocation of the state government employees other than the All India Services. By 2016, about 160 departments were bifurcated based on the committee’s guidelines.
But the joint high court modified the guidelines to allow the judges to opt for a state based on their seniority.
“If natives of Andhra Pradesh opt for Telangana on the basis of seniority, Telangana native officers who are lesser in number and do not match in seniority would be gravely prejudiced,” senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for the petitioners, told the court.
The Centre and the state governments are yet to respond to the plea. In 2014, the law ministry had proposed to divide the court in a 60:40 ratio between Andhra and Telangana.
A few months ago, judicial officers went on a strike protesting against the transfer rules. The high court is currently short of 18 judges and an acting chief justice is holding fort since July 2016.
The case will be heard next on 31 October.