HYDRAA Chief Apologises For Skipping Contempt Case Hearing

HYDRAA commissioner AV Ranganath has apologized to the Telangana High Court for skipping the hearing of a defamation case in connection with a petition filed against him by A. Sudhakar Reddy. Ranganath attended the court in connection with the Bathukammakunta case.

Sudhakar Reddy filed a petition seeking action against the HYDRAA commissioner for non-compliance with status quo orders passed by the court regarding private land in Bathukammakunta lake land in Hyderabad. The court issued the orders on June 12, and during the hearing on October 31, the High Court summoned the Commissioner on November 27 and explained to the court why a contempt of court case should not be filed against him.

However, Ranganath filed an interim petition seeking exemption from attending the court as he had urgent business in Bachupalli. On November 27, a bench comprising Justice Mousami Bhattacharya and Justice BR Madhusudan Rao heard the case.

During the hearing of the case, the government’s special prosecutor Swaroop Urilla said that Ranganath had sought exemption as he did not want to cause further trouble to the court in addition to existing official work. Reacting to this statement, the court said that it thanked the HYDRAA chief for his kindness. At the same time, the court said Ranganath should have been aware that failure to comply with court orders could make him wait in the facility throughout the day. The court warned HYDRAA chief Ranganath of issuing a non-bailable arrest warrant if he fails to appear before it next time and dismissed the interim petition seeking exemption from attending the court.

In this procedure, Ranganath attended the court and apologized to the court for not being able to attend.