Chagari Praveen Kumar Is Chief Justice Of AP High Court, Division Of Employees Begins

Amaravati: With President Ram Nath Kovind issuing orders for a separate High Court which would function from Amaravati, the new capital of Andhra Pradesh (AP) from January 1, 2019, the order has received mixed responses from the AP advocates in Hyderabad.

For the Andhra Pradesh High Court, Justice Chagari Praveen Kumar, the senior-most judge of the High Court has been appointed as the Chief Justice starting from January 1, 2019. The notification states, “Consequent upon the constitution of separate High Court for the State of Andhra Pradesh by the President vide notification dated 26.12.2018, and in exercise of the powers conferred by Article 223 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint Shri Justice Chagari Praveen Kumar, senior-most Judge of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh, to perform the duties of the office of the Chief Justice of that High Court with effect from 01.01.2019.”

As per President of the Andhra Pradesh High Court Advocates Association (APHCAA), K B Ramanna Dora the relocation to Amaravati would be very difficult that too in less than a week, he said. There is no proper infrastructure and the construction of the court is yet to be completed he said further.

According to sources, there are about 3 lakh cases currently pending with the Hyderabad High Court, of which about 60% belong to the AP region. About 1,600 employees are currently working in the court and options are being sought for their placement between AP and Telangana.

Meanwhile, the High Court has completed its responsibilities in the wake of President's ordinance issued for a separate Andhra Pradesh High Court in Amravati. The process of division of the most crucial magistrates has already been completed. The Central Ministry of Personnel and Training Affairs has allotted the judicial officers working in these States in accordance with the orders issued on June 10 this year. Registrar General C.H.Manaveendranath Roy issued the order on behalf of the High Court.

Out of 901 people, 539 persons were allocated to Andhra Pradesh and the remaining 362 to Telangana.

Out of the 110 District Judge cadre, 110 were allocated to Andhra Pradesh and 90 for Telangana.

The senior civil judges cadre 132 were allocated to AP and 71 for Telangana,

The junior civil judges cadre 297 were allocated to AP and 201 for Telangana.

The High Court initially issued guidelines for allocation of judges based on seniority.

Earlier, Telangana judges had expressed serious objections that the division should be done based on region and a petition was filed in the Supreme Court as well. After a detailed enquiry, the Supreme Court passed orders stating the allocations should be done based on Seniority . The High Court Advisory Committee prepared a list based on seniority of Judges and sent it to the Ministry of Personnel and Training Affairs which was ratified on 10th of this month.

Based on this, the High Court issued orders on Thursday on the Chief Justice's recommendations and on the basis of seniority. The matter proceeded to the Supreme Court and after a lengthy inquiry, the division of judges decided to be based on seniority. The High Court Advisory Committee appointed a list based on seniority and sent it to the Ministry of Personnel and Training Affairs on 10th of this month.

The High Courts issued the order on Thursday based on the Chief Justice's recommendations on the basis of seniority. The order on Thursday based on the Chief Justice's recommendations on the basis of seniority and also on the basis of who opted for which place.

Division of employees on war footing

As of now, the High Court division of employees is happening on a war-footing. The High Court officials are busy working on preparing a list based on the sealed covers in which the employees had marked their preferences. The High Court has decided to complete the process and approve the list of allotments by Friday evening.

As of now, AP Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is getting a hall readied for the Court to function as the Main court building is yet to be completed. It is said that he is also willing to give space in his Camp Office in Velagapudi for officials to conduct their administrative work.

Also Read: Radhakrishnan Appointed As Telangana High Court Chief Justice