HC to T-student: Pay Rs 1 lakh for damage

A single judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Friday told a student arrested for violence during the Telangana agitation to deposit Rs 1 lakh for the damage caused if he wanted bail, even as a division bench instructed the state government to formulate guidelines within three weeks to recover damages from political parties for destruction of property during bandhs and hartals.

The bail petition of Mr Mallikarjun, a student of Mahbubnagar, who has been in jail for the last 36 days, came up before Justice B. Chandrakumar.

The judge told Mr Mallikarjun’s counsel that he will grant bail on the condition that the petitioner paid Rs 1 lakh for the damage caused but the counsel objected to it and said it would set a dangerous precedent. He added that the student was unwilling and incapable of making the payment. Justice Chandrakumar then adjourned the bail petition to Monday.

Meanwhile, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Anil R. Dave and Justice C.V. Nagarjuna Reddy asked the government counsel whether any cases were booked against political parties and damages recovered so far from any of them in connection with the recent violent agitations.

The division bench was dealing with a petition filed by Mohammed Adam, advocate, who pointed out that a number of private and public vehicles were burnt or damaged across the state.