A.P. Assembly passes resolution for establishment of High Court Bench in Kurnool

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu along with State Assembly Speaker Ayyanna Patrudu (left) arrive for the Legislative Assembly session in Vijayawada. File photo
| Photo Credit: ANI

The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly on Thursday (November 21, 2024) passed a resolution for establishment of a permanent Bench of the High Court (HC) in Kurnool. The resolution was moved by Minister of Law and Justice N. Md. Farooq and it was declared as unanimously passed, by the Speaker Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu.  

Making a statement on the decision to set up High Court Bench in the Rayalaseema region, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said the government would not shift the Institution of the Lokayukta, State Human Rights Commission and some tribunals situated in Kurnool.

He said the establishment of the High Court Bench was a part of the Mission Rayalaseema, a region which has been endowed with rich natural resources but remained backward for decades. The resolution would be immediately sent to the HC and the Government of India for necessary approvals. 

The government gave top priority to completing the pending irrigation projects and taking Godavari river water to Rayalaseema by linking it with the Penna River.

Mr. Naidu said the setting up of High Court Bench was a significant step towards decentralisation, which was in sharp contrast to the manner in which former CM Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy promised to bring the HC itself to Kurnool as part of his concept of three capitals but could never give it a tangible shape because it was only political rhetoric.

Rather, the promise to develop Kurnool as the judicial capital was intended to reap political dividends by driving a wedge among the three regions of the State i.e Uttarandhra, Rayalaseema and the central coastal districts. 

Due to the focus on bringing investments and the overall importance attached to the development of the region, Rayalaseema was poised for a perceptible change in the coming years, Mr. Naidu asserted. 

Earlier, IT Minister Nara Lokesh said the government intended to have the HC Bench set up in Kurnool in less than a year and requested Mr. Farooq with that goal in mind.