‘Who Are You?’ HC Asks AP MLA For His PIL Against Telangana’s FAST

The Hyderabad High Court on Monday questioned TDP MLA Pithani Satyanarayana to explain his locus standi on the FAST scholarship scheme introduced by Telangana Government.

The AP TDP MLA filed a PIL challenging the Telangana government introducing a new welfare scheme FAST to replace the present fee reimbursement scheme. The MLA urged the court to reject the GO and declare “FAST” as illegal, arbitrary and violative of Articles 14, 15, 19 (d) and (e) and 21 of the Constitution. Also, his PIL claimed the order was running contrary to Article 371-D of the Constitution and violative of Sections 95 and 75 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation act, 2014, he said.

To this the court pointed out that he is not an aggrieved student or parent of an aggrieved student who can challenge the GO. Neither can the court consider this as PIL as he is a politician and an MLA, who has vested interest in the political controversy around FAST. “You (petitioner) belong to a political party and you are not a parent or guardian of a student. What is your locus standi?”, the bench, comprising Chief Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta and Justice P V Sanjay Kumar, asked the petitioner.

In reply, the MLA’s lawyer, reportedly told the bench that the petitioner is challenging the Telangana government’s decision as lakhs of students belonging to the AP are affected as a result of FAST.