VIJAYAWADA: The high court on Thursday questioned the state government how it could remove its constitutional rights for the sake of getting loans for Andhra Pradesh State Development Corporation (APSDC). The bench of Chief Justice Arup Kumar Goswami and Justice Ninala Jayasuriya, which heard a batch of petitions challenging the mortgage of government properties for getting loans for APSDC, found fault with the terms and conditions included in the loan documents giving powers to the banks to issue notices to the governor in case the state government fails to repay the loan.
“The governor is protected from civil and criminal cases as per Article 361 of the Indian Constitution. How can the state government remove that right?” the bench asked. The court also raised objection on inclusion of the governor’s name in the loan agreement, asking the government whether the same person would continue as governor forever.
Senior counsel Dushyant Dave, appearing for the state government, argued that the petitions are not maintainable as they are filed with a political motive. The petitioners are obstructing the state from taking loans by writing representations to banks, he said, to which the court asked why banks are hesitating to fund this project when everything is correct.
Petitioner and MLA Velagapudi Ramakrishna submitted to the court that the state mortgaged several properties in Visakhapatnam while the petition is pending for hearing in the court.
He sought directions seeking not to mortgage any other properties of the state till further orders. The court directed the state to file counter and posted the next hearing of the matter to October 21.
