An off-the-cuff remark by Union Law Minister Sadanand Gowda on Tuesday in New Delhi fanned the protests in Telangana by judges from lower courts and served as fodder for politicians to up the ante in the demand for a separate High Court for the state, which, at present, shares one with Andhra Pradesh.

“Your chief minister [K Chandrashekhar Rao] is behaving like [Delhi Chief Minister] Arvind Kejriwal,” Gowda reportedly said at a meeting with a delegation of Telangana advocates. “If he wants to stage a dharna in Delhi, he is welcome.” KCR, as the chief minister is widely known, has threatened to stage a protest at the Jantar Mantar in the national capital to press for the creation of a High Court for his state.

Over the last month, judges in Telangana's lower courts have been boycotting proceedings to protest the allotment of judges from Andhra in Telangana's courts. Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014 and sharing of resources have been the source of several conflicts between the states.

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Speaking to mediapersons after Gowda's remark, K Kavitha, a Member of Parliament from the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti and daughter of KCR, said her party would escalate protests if the demands for bifurcation of the court were not met. "The BJP government is discriminating against Telangana,” she said. “Every state has a separate court, then why not Telangana?"

Angered by Gowda’s comment, a group of lawyers in Telangana filed a case of cheating against the law minister at a police station in Hyderabad on Wednesday, alleging that he failed to deliver on his assurance to bifurcate the High Court.

Raging protests

The judiciary has become the latest front of the discontent between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, with sharing of water and power being other major flashpoints.

Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014. As per the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 – which formed the blueprint for the bifurcation – the two states are to share a common High Court – the High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad – till Andhra Pradesh forms one of its own.

On Tuesday, at least 200 judges from various courts in Telangana went on mass casual leave to protest the suspension of 11 judges on disciplinary grounds by the High Court.

The court action came after about a 100 judges met on Sunday to protest the recent appointment of 130 judges who are Andhra Pradesh natives to various courts in Telangana. The judges also demanded a separate High Court for the newly formed state.

KCR shot off a three-page letter to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday reiterating the demand for a High Court and alleging bias towards Andhra Pradesh. The ruling Telugu Desam Party in Andhra is an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, which is in power at the Centre. This has given much grist to Telangana politicians to allege favouritism.

Prolonged agitation

While the issue snowballed over the last week, advocates in Telangana have been boycotting proceedings in all courts, except the High Court, since June 6. This is in response to a provisional list issued by the High Court early in May that allotted 335 judicial officers of various ranks to Telangana courts, and 495 to Andhra Pradesh. In the list pertaining to Telangana, at least 130 officers were Andhra Pradesh natives, according to the Telangana Judicial Officers’ Association, one of the groups at the forefront of the protest.

KCR also took up this issue in his letter to the home minister. “The tentative allocation of subordinate judicial officers has created discontent among the judicial officers and the advocate community of Telangana,” wrote KCR.

The chief minister also argued that the subordinate judges, though under the control of the High Court registry, were employees of the state government and hence under Sections 77 and 80 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, their appointments were controlled by the Government of India.

KCR demanded that the appointment of judicial officers and staff should be done only after separate High Courts are set up for both states.

Advocates in Telangana allege that Andhra Pradesh wants to delay the setting up of a High Court in their state as it wants to retain its hold over Hyderabad – the shared capital of the two states till 2024 according to the terms of the bifurcation. “How can a state and its people accept judgements on its laws, actions and welfare of the people being decided on its own soil by judicial officers from another state?” asked senior advocate K Narasimha Reddy.

Trading charges

The High Court Registry, on its part, claims that due procedure was followed in the appointment of judges. After the provisional list was completed on May 2, judicial officers were asked to submit their objections to district judges concerned by May 13, who would then pass them on to the High Court by May 18.

“We don’t know the cause of this ruckus", a senior registrar told Scroll.in. “Everything has been done as per a set procedure and there were not many objections. The aggrieved judges and advocates are aware of it.”

V Rama Krishna Reddy, General Secretary of the Advocates Association, another body of advocates in Telangana, said that they would continue their agitation – which includes a Chalo High Court, or a march to the court – till their demands are met. “We are completely opposed to the inclusion of judges from Andhra Pradesh in the Telangana list as it hurts our sentiments and also our prospects,” he told Scroll.in.

Junior advocate T Verma questioned the formula followed by the High Court registry in allocating judges. “Why not follow the pattern of division of state government employees here too?” he asked. According to the Andhra Pradesh reorganisation Act, such allotments should be done in the ratio of the populations Andhra Pradesh and Telangana – 58:42.

Lawyers’ might

Telangana’s advocates have been a vocal lot and were crucial to the movement for the creation of a separate state.

Conflicts between lawyers from Telangana and Seemandhra – the area that is now under Andhra Pradesh – are not new.

In September 2010, a group of lawyers from Telangana had gone on strike to protest the “inadequate” representation of their region in appointments of judicial officers. A Joint Action Committee of advocates had even attacked the court hall of Justice CV Nagarjuna Reddy at the Andhra Pradesh High Court, damaging furniture and flinging paper at him, for continuing work despite their call for a boycott.

Following bifurcation, the Telangana government recognised the contributions of the 7,000-strong advocates’ association with various concessions and benefits. A Telangana Advocates Welfare fund of Rs 100 crore was set up for them. KCR has repeatedly spoken at various advocates’ gatherings about the alleged injustice faced by Telangana lawyers at the hands of their Andhra counterparts. He has also promised them allotment of land for a housing society and pension to retired judges, among other provisions.

As early as February, KCR had called on the Chief Justice of India, TS Thakur, with a renewed demand for a separate High Court for Telangana. He even offered to allot land for a new court complex in Hyderabad to facilitate both High Courts.

Sources in the Telangana government say KCR fears that in a common High Court, Andhra’s judicial officers can rule against Telangana in important judgements. These include various irrigation programmes for Telanagana that are under litigation.

As a crisis sets in within the judiciary, with the support of the state government, the Centre will now have to decide whether to mollify KCR to stem the agitation, or be firm with him at the risk of the stir escalating.