HC lawyers protest shifting court to Rajendranagar, propose changes to present location

Hyderabad: Advocates in Hyderabad gathered to protest against the shifting of the Telangana High Court to Budvel near Rajendranagar claiming that the move will adversely affect the law fraternity.

Listed the many advantages of the present location and the cons of moving to the new location, the advocates demanded that the State Government change its mind about moving to a new location.

Convenient location from other courts

The advocates said that the current ‘prestigious building’ of the High Court of Telangana lies in the heart of Hyderabad and is at a convenient distance from other court such as Metropolitan Magistrate Courts, Family Courts, Consumer Forum, Debt Recovery Tribunals, Wakf Tribunal and others. Shifting the court to Rajendranagar, on the outskirts of the city, will increase the travel distance for lawyers adding to traffic issues and a possible loss of cases and clients.

They said that the present location is also convenient for people coming from other districts to reach the court, especially with the proposed Metro rail coming up. Similarly, they said that the new location has limited connectivity.

Burden on State Treasury and Patta land

They said that the cost of construction of the new proposed High Court will be a burden on the State Treasury as the present government is running on a deficit budget.

The lawyers said that the lands identified for the proposed construction of the new High Court are Patta land and not government land. “There are multiple claims on these lands and without the government moving acquisition proceedings, the government cannot and shall not pass any order for the proposed construction,” the lawyers said in their public statement.

“The present government has passed orders without consulting the advocates. There was a proposal from the previous government and after due consultations with the advocate fraternity the previous government shelved the project as the advocates protested against such shifting,” the statement read.

‘Make present location better’

Citing the main reason for shifting as insufficient parking area, the lawyers asked the government to create a parking place in the adjacent City College grounds as they did earlier by removing the government maternity hospital.

The lawyers also said that the government can construct a bridge over the adjoining Musi River to provide parking for vehicles similar to how RTC constructed a huge building near the Imbliban Bus Stand.