The Supreme Court on Monday gave the green signal to the Andhra Pradesh government to issue a notification for the bifurcation of the existing High Court in Hyderabad, so that a separate HC for the state can be hosted in Amaravati.
The new Andhra HC is expected to function from a temporary structure in the state's capital till a permanent building is set up at the 'Justice City' being planned in Amaravati.
A bench of Justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan was hearing a plea filed by the central government, which had challenged a 2015 order of the Hyderabad High Court.
"We expect such a notification to be issued by January 1, 2019, so that the two High Courts start functioning separately and High Court of Andhra Pradesh also starts functioning in the new building at the earliest. It is also clear that the Judges of the High Court, who would become Judges of High Court of Andhra Pradesh, are satisfied with the facilities in the said building in as much as Full Court of the High Court has approved the proposal after Inspection Committee of Judges submitted a report in this behalf," the bench was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, the counsel for the state government, Fali S Nariman, said that all facilities for the judges would be made before the notification is issued.
The Hyderabad HC had said that the permanent HC for Andhra must be constructed within the state only. The Centre had challenged this, stating that as Hyderabad was the common capital of both states for 10 years and the delay in bifurcation was causing several problems, a temporary HC could be established in the city as there was enough infrastructure. The Andhra government in its response said that the temporary accommodation could also be arranged in its own upcoming capital.
The bifurcation will take place according to guidelines laid down in the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014.