Telangana HC issues stay on Kakatiya University Ph.D admission process

The court's intervention came in response to a petition challenging the university's decision to extend the merit list from 2022 for the current year's admissions.

By Legal Correspondent

Hyderabad: Justice T. Vinod Kumar of the Telangana High Court issued a stay on the Ph.D. admissions process at Kakatiya University on Wednesday. The court’s intervention came in response to a petition challenging the university’s decision to extend the merit list from 2022 for the current year’s admissions. The petition, filed by Challa Amarender Reddy, an aspiring Ph.D. candidate, contested the university’s August 16 proceeding which utilized the previous year’s merit list for the current admissions cycle. Petitioner said that, this practice unfairly disadvantages new applicants and may preclude them from pursuing their doctoral studies at the university.. Justice Vinod also questioned, if you want to fill the seats with old merit list what will happen to those who have recently completed Post Graduation. Akhi Ennamshetti, representing the petitioner argued that a fresh notification is required to be issued enabling all the eligible candidates to participate in the examination process. He emphasized that a fresh notification would ensure a fair and transparent selection process. The judge stayed the proceeding by passing an interim order and directed the University not to allocate seats. The University and Higher Education Department, Telangana are directed to submit their response while adjourning the matter.

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Justice K. Lakshman of the Telangana High Court has granted bail to G. Uday Kumar Reddy, an accused in a high-profile criminal conspiracy case involving the murder of former Kadapa MP Y. S. Vivekananda Reddy. The decision comes after Reddy, who was previously not listed in the initial or first supplementary charge sheets, sought bail on the grounds that his arrest stemmed from a subsequent charge sheet.Reddy is alleged to have been involved in a conspiracy to murder Vivekananda Reddy and in the destruction of evidence at the crime scene, including concealing grievous injuries on the deceased’s body. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had alleged that Reddy, an employee of Uranium Corporation India Limited, was on leave the night of the murder. The investigation reportedly revealed that he was involved in abetting other accused individuals in concealing critical evidence. In seeking bail, Reddy’s defense highlighted that he was only implicated in the case through a second supplementary charge sheet and had not been named in the earlier charge sheets. The defense argued that the delay in trial, coupled with the complexity of the case involving approximately 300 witnesses and numerous documents, warranted bail. Justice Lakshman noted that Reddy had been in custody since March 2023 and that the case is currently at the stage where compliance with Section 207 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) is ongoing. This section mandates that the accused receive copies of statements and evidence from the prosecution, which has yet to be fully provided. Acknowledging the principle of criminal jurisprudence that mandates a speedy and public trial, the court observed that there is no imminent likelihood of the trial commencing in the near future. As such, Justice Lakshman decided to enlarge Reddy on bail, underscoring the right to a prompt trial afforded to all accused individuals.