Vijayawada, October 28, 2022: The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday refused to change the directions issued by it stating that only 600 people can take part in Amaravati to Arasavalli Maha Padayatra and those extending support can only do so by standing on the roadside and should not take part in the padayatra.
Hearing a petition filed by Amaravati farmers seeking dismissal of supplementary petition filed by the DGP to revoke permission for the padayatra and to modify the order limiting the participation to 600, Justice R Raghunandan Rao said all he ordered was to implement the directions of the High Court before the commencement of padayatra and no new conditions were made.
He said in case there are objections to earlier orders of the court, the petitioners can file a review petition for the same. However, there will not be any changes in the orders issued by the court, he ruled.Appearing for the petitioners, advocate U Muralidhar Rao said police were harassing the participants of padayatra demanding their identity cards. But, only 150 identity cards were issued to farmers.
Intervening in the matter, Advocate General S Sriram said police were only discharging their duty and following the court directions, and asked for identity cards of the participants. He said making serious allegations against police was not proper. He requested the court to adjourn the case to Monday or Tuesday. Responding to it, the petitioners’ counsel said police were stopping those extending solidarity to Amaravati farmers and insisted on modification of orders limiting the participation to 600 people.
The Judge said the court orders were not new and he had only reiterated what the court had said earlier while giving permission for the yatra. When the Judge questioned the petitioners’ counsel, had they stopped the padayatra, the latter informed that due to police attitude they had stopped the yatra at Ramachandrapuram. He complained that police were not allowing others to meet the participants of padayatra for even giving food and water.
Taking exception to the allegation, the Advocate General said police were only following the court orders and checking identification. He said all the participants were issued identity cards. He pointed out that there was no mention of stay in Kalyana Mandapam and non- availability of food and water in the supplementary petition filed and they were being explained to the court orally.He said he can respond to the issues mentioned in the affidavit. He also said as police are being accused, there is need for hearing their side.
Justice Raghunandan Rao said he will hear all sides and directed the petitioners to submit the data they have pertaining to identity cards issued to the farmers. On the subject of extending solidarity, the Judge was clear that extending solidarity does not mean participating in the yatra. When the arguments over the subject continued, the Judge expressing his ire and said if the subject is left unsolved, the two parties might fight in the streets. Senior advocate P Venkateswarlu, representing the petitioners, said 600 people participating in the yatra at a time is not possible and they are participating on rotation basis. He said when the aged are feeling difficulty others are replacing them according to the reports published in newindianexpress.com.
The Advocate General pointed out that farmers participating in the yatra are interpreting the court orders as they like to suit their needs. It is posing difficulties to police. After hearing arguments from both the sides, the Judge adjourned the case to Friday.
