A Division Bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court led by Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice R. Raghunandan Rao directed the government to file a counter to the PIL filed by retired railway employee Chinta Venkateswarlu against the appointment of Samineni Udayabhanu (Jaggaiahpet MLA), P. Sarath Chandra Reddy and Kethan Desai as members of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Trust Board, in three weeks.
Petitioner’s counsel J. Shravan Kumar argued that the three newly inducted members of the TTD Trust Board had criminal record and their appointment was in violation of Sections 18 and 19 of the AP Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions And Endowments Act, 1987 and No 8 of the AP Charitable And Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Appointment Of Trustees Rules, 1987. The prayer was for setting aside G.O. MS No 406 dated August 25, 2023 through which the impugned appointments were made.
