Telangana HC sets aside fishermen society membership orders
Hyderabad: The Telangana high court has set aside orders that had allowed over 120 persons to seek membership in two fishermen cooperative societies, ruling that the societies should have been heard before their interests were affected. The applications had been rejected on the ground that the applicants belonged to castes that were not included in the prescribed list of eligible communities. The applicants then approached the HC, where the single judge ruled in their favour. The applicants, however, countered that the single judge had only directed the authorities to reconsider their applications afresh in accordance with law and the principles of natural justice. They argued that this process would have allowed the societies to raise their objections. The division bench noted that even the official respondents had not been allowed to file counter-affidavits. It held that since the societies had been impleaded and their rights and interests were directly involved, the matters ought to have been decided only after hearing all concerned parties. The bench accordingly remanded the matters to the single judge for fresh consideration, directing that all parties be given an opportunity of hearing. The court clarified that it had not examined the merits of the membership claims. The writ appeals were disposed of accordingly.
The appeals challenged orders passed by a single judge, who had earlier set aside decisions of the assistant director of fisheries rejecting the membership applications.