New Delhi: Even as the Centre works to find a middle way out of the Telangana tangle, the Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay tabling of the Telangana bill in Parliament, saying it did not want to interfere at this stage.
The apex court declined to pass any direction to the Centre on a batch of petitions challenging the carving of the new state of Telangana out of Andhra Pradesh.
A bench comprising justices H L Dattu and S A Bobde referred to its earlier order of November 18, 2013, when it had said that it was premature at that time to entertain any petition relating to the opposition to the bifurcation of the state.
"We do not see any change in the stage between November 18, 2013 and today. So we decline to interfere at this stage," the bench said. However, it clarified that the averment made in the writ petitions are open to be entertained at an appropriate stage.
Those who were opposing the proposed creation of Telangana sought stay of tabling of the bill, saying that there was all likelihood that the bill will be tabled in Parliament on February 10 and if it becomes a law, it will become an irreversible process.
They also submitted that since the Andhra Pradesh Assembly has unanimously rejected the draft bill, it should not be allowed to be tabled in the same form. The bench passed the brief order after almost one-and-a- half hours of hearing during which all the petitioners were heard.
