High court slaps Rs 50,000 fine on Maa Telangana Party

Hyderabad: The Telangana high court slapped a fine of Rs 50 000 on Maa Telangana Party for filing a writ petition while concealing the fact that the president of the party had previously addressed a legal forum for the same relief.

The high court division bench comprised of Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice CV Bhaskar Reddy, heard a petition filed by the Maa Telangana Party on Monday.

The petition was represented by Maa Telangana Party’s president, K Veera Reddy who claimed that the respondents’ decision to continue allowing the bulk drug and pharmaceutical units to use Zero Liquid Discharge systems and treat their toxic effluents as waste was arbitrary, illegal, and against the law.

Reddy urged the respondents to take action against the businesses that are spewing air pollution and liquid effluents into the environment.

After reviewing the affidavit, chief justice Ujjal Bhuyan questioned the petitioner’s counsel Harsh Kumar Asthana about what facts were relevant to the case. “Material facts will not be withheld under any circumstances,” said the CJ.

The respondent government officials have informed the court that the petitioner, Maa Telangana Party, filed multiple appeals on the same issue before the appellate body, all of which were dismissed for lack of prosecution.