Hyderabad ‘free zone’, SC refuses state plea

The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a petition filed by the Andhra Pradesh government seeking a review of its ruling giving free zone status to Hyderabad for recruitment of police personnel.

Justices G.S. Singhvi and M.K. Sharma rejected the review petition in a hearing conducted in their chamber.

Sources said the Chief Minsiter, Mr K. Rosaiah, is likely to convene an all-party meeting on Wednesday morning in the Assembly to take stock of the situation arising out of the SC order on the sensitive issue.

The apex court had given the ruling in favour of free zone on October 9, 2009, while dealing with a petition filed by P.V. Radhakrishna, then inspector of the city police, opposing a separate cadre for Hyderabad.

The petitioner had appealed against an AP High Court order which stated that the city police was part of Zone 6 delineated by the Presidential Order for recruitment and its personnel cannot claim free zone status.

Mr Radhakrishna contended before the apex court that the city police had been exempted from the Presidential Order as per Section 14 (F).

Endorsing this, the Supreme Court set aside the High Court order, and said that the city was a free zone and would not come under Zone 6 specified in the Presidential Order.

As per the Presidential Order, the State was divided into six zones and the sixth zone included the districts of Nizamabad, Mahbubnagar, Medak, Nalgonda and Hyderabad. However, personnel were recruited in the city police during 1985, 1991 and 1994 treating Hyderabad as a free zone.

Following the Supreme Court order in October, there was uproar in the state with the Telangana Rastra Samiti threatening to launch a stir if Hyderabad was declared a free zone. The state government then hurriedly convened an all-party meeting and decided to file a review petition in the apex court.

The government argued that the procedure followed for recruitment of police in 1985, 1991 and 1994,
could not be used to declare the city a free zone. But this did not impress the Supreme Court.

Reacting to the latest Supreme Court ruling, the former minister and TRS leader, Mr T. Harish Rao, urged the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, to adopt a resolution in the Assembly on Wednesday seeking amendment of the Presidential Order to treat Hyderabad as part of Zone 6.

Mr Harish Rao told this correspondent that in the all party meeting held last October, the TRS chief, Mr K. Chandrasekhar Rao, had pointed out that filing a review petition was of no use and only an amendment to the Presidential Order could bring about the desired result.

Sources said the Chief Minister too was in favour of the view that Hyderabad belonged within Zone 6.