Land scam: HC asks Andhra Pradesh government to file counter by August 5

VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday directed the state government to file a counter to the petition filed by former advocate general Dammalapati Srinivas challenging the case registered against him and a few others in the alleged Amaravati land scam. Hearing the petition of Srinivas, Justice Cheekati Manavendranath Roy asked the state government to file the counter by August 5 and directed the petitioner to file rejoinder for the counter by August 12. The final hearing of the petition will be held on August 12, he said and adjourned the case hearing to August 12. 

The judge also allowed a supplementary petition of Dammalapati Srinivas to make advocate K Srinivas Swamy Reddy, who complained of Amaravati land scam, as a respondent in the case and issued a notice to Swamy Reddy. The case will be disposed of in four weeks time given by the Supreme Court, the judge said. Dammalapati Srinivas had filed a petition in the High Court seeking stay on any action including his arrest in view of the State government requesting for a CBI inquiry into Amaravati land scam and giving its assent for the same in March last year. However, with the ACB registering a case against him even as his petition was pending in the court, he filed a supplementary petition in the form  house motion. In the petition, he sought a media gag order in the case proceedings. 

The then Chief Justice JK Maheshwari stayed the inquiry and investigation in the ACB case against Dammalapati and directed ACB not to take any action against the accused till further orders.  He also issued media gag orders as demanded by the former AG. The State government moved the Supreme Court challenging the gag order last July. The petition came for hearing in the apex court recently and the State government withdrew its petition and informed the Supreme Court that they would argue for vacating the stay in the case in the High Court. Allowing it, the Supreme Court directed the High Court to dispose of the case in four weeks. The petition filed by the 13th accused in the ACB case will also be clubbed with Dammalapati’s petition. 

SUPPLEMENTARY PETITION
The judge allowed a supplementary petition of Dammalapati Srinivas to make advocate K Srinivas Swamy Reddy, who complained of Amaravati land scam, as a respondent in the case and issued a notice to Swamy Reddy.