Supreme Court issues notice to centre on petitions filed by former Andhra CM

The Supreme Court issued notice to the government on petitions filed by former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Kiran Reddy on creation of Telangana.

A bench headed by Justice H.L. Dattu issued notice to the government on petitions filed by several people, including Reddy, challenging bifurcation of the state.

A lawyer, Ramkrishna Reddy, said the court refused to stay on bifurcation of the state.

"Today about 18 petitions questioning the A.P. state Reorganisation Act 2014 was placed before the court for hearing. After hearing a bench comprising Justice Dattu and Bobde issues notice, however, refused to stay the operation of the order and the council for the petition also made a request to pose these matters after notice before 2nd June because two states are going to come into operation from 2nd June, that request was also refused by the Supreme Court," he said.

Anti-Telangana protests erupted in various parts of Andhra Pradesh, accusing the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the passage of new state bill for electoral gains.

The Rajya Sabha passed the bill to create India's 29th state in February, despite mayhem in the parliament, as opponents made a futile last attempt to stop the Rajya Sabha from carving out landlocked Telangana.

The vote passed with the support of the two main parties, Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party, who are usually bitterly opposed, but are seeking to build support in the south ahead of the election. The new state will have a population of around 35 million people.

The bill must now be signed by the President to become law, a formality expected to take place in a few days.