Telangana High Court dismisses petition on Ganesh immersion in Hussain Sagar

Advocate Venu Madhav’s petition argued that the State government had flagrantly violated court orders prohibiting the immersion of idols, particularly Plaster of Paris (POP) idols, at Tank Bund.

By LEGAL CORRESPONDENT

Hyderabad: A special two-judge panel of the Telangana High Court on Tuesday dismissed a fresh contempt petition related to the immersion of Ganesh idols in the Hussain Sagar. The panel, consisting of Justice T. Vinod Kumar and Justice Anil Kumar, was addressing a petition filed by Mamidi Venu Madhav, an advocate, who sought to reopen a contempt case based on court orders from September 2021.

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Venu Madhav’s petition argued that the State government had flagrantly violated court orders prohibiting the immersion of idols, particularly Plaster of Paris (POP) idols, at Tank Bund. He claimed that despite these directives, the orders were not followed, leading to continued pollution. However, the panel noted that the court had previously recorded its satisfaction with the compliance of its orders in 2021.

Senior Counsel L. Ravichander, representing the Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samithi, said any alleged violations were barred by the law of limitation, as the Contempt of Courts Act stipulates a one-year period for prosecuting such cases. He also argued that the matter was affected by the theory of merger, asserting that the High Court’s 2021 order had been challenged and thus merged with the Supreme Court’s order.

Justice Vinod Kumar questioned the petitioner about actions taken in response to earlier court directions and his prolonged silence. Justice Anil Kumar Jukanti asked for concrete details to support allegations of pollution and improper idol immersions. In its decision, the panel referred to an earlier order where compliance was acknowledged and concluded that since the case had already been addressed, the petitioner could not claim a continuing breach.

The panel disposed of the case, emphasizing that reopening the contempt petition after three years from its closure was not justified.