Separation of High Courts: Andhra Pradesh govt writes to ACJ Ranganathan

The Andhra Pradesh state government has written to Acting Chief Justice (ACJ) of the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh High Court, Justice Ramesh Ranganathan, in relation to the separation of High Courts as contemplated under the state’s Reorganisation Act of 2014.

AP Advocate General Dammalapati Srinivas confirmed to Bar & Bench that he had handed over a letter to ACJ Ramesh Ranganathan on Saturday, requesting him to constitute a committee of judges to inspect buildings in and around Amaravati to assess their suitability to house what will be India’s newest High Court.

He added that the government had proposed that the Andhra Pradesh High Court start functioning at Amaravati by June 2, 2018.

The High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad currently serves as the common high court for the state of Andhra Pradesh and the fledgling state of Telangana. The allocation of judges to the separate high courts is an issue pending consideration.

The demand for separate high courts in each state has been a prolonged one, with various lawyers’ groups from both states holding agitations to speed up the process for the same in the past.

In 2016, the Telangana High Court Advocates Association launched a protest demanding bifurcation, and also protesting the allocation of subordinate judges in courts of both states.