IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) WEDNESDAY, THE TWENTY NINTH DAY OF APRIL TWO THOUSAND AND NINE PRESENT THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE V.ESWARAIAH WRIT PETITION No.4009 of 2006 Between: M/s. Bharati Cellular Limited, (Formerly Known as Bharati Mobile Limited), Splendid Towers, HUDA Road, Begumpet, Hyderabad-500 016, Rep by its Constituted Attorney- K.B.S.Sarma. ..... PETITIONER AND 1 Government of A.P., Rep by its Principal Secretary, Panchayat Raj & Rural Development Department, Secretariat Buildings, Hyderabad. 2 Gram Panchayat, Rep by its Sarpanch Aravelli Gram- Panchayat, Attili Mandal, West Godavari District. 3 Panchayat Secretary, Gram Panchayat Aravelli, Attili Mandal, West Godavari District. .....RESPONDENTS Petition under Article 226 of the constitution of India praying that in the circumstances stated in the Affidavit filed herein the High Court will be pleased to to issue a Writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate Order or Direction declaring the action of the 3rd respondent in interfering with the installation and operation of the petitioner's BTS facility at Aravelli Village, West Godavari District as being illegal, arbitrary, and unconstitutional and violative of provisions of the A.P.Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 and contrary to Memo No.9185/Pts.IV/A2/2004-A2 dated 22-12-2004 of the 1st respondent and consequently direct the 3rd respondent not to interfere in any manner withy the petitioner's installations and operation of the said Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) at Aravelli, West Godavari District and pass such further order or orders. Counsel for the Petitioner: MR.S.NIRANJAN REDDY Counsel for the Respondent No.: GP FOR PANCHAYAT RAJ & RURAL DEV. The Court made the following: Form-NIC-OGS/WP{TRR} THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE V.ESWARAIAH WRIT PETITION No.4009 of 2006 ORDER: Though the writ petition is admitted in 2006 no counter is forthcoming. The petitioner is a Company registered under the Companies Act. The Government of India granted licence to the petitioner to establish, maintain and operate Cellular Mobile Telephone Services in the specified areas in India including Andhra Pradesh vide terms and conditions set out in the licence agreement dated 22.01.1995. The petitioner has commenced providing Mobile Cellular Telephone services since December 1996 in the name of “JTM” Cellular phone and later changed the name to “Bharti Mobile Limited” and now “Bharti Cellular Limited”. It is stated that the petitioner entered into Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Andhra Pradesh to undertake massive expansion plans for increasing the network of telecommunication in Andhra Pradesh and for extending the services to various rural and semi-urban areas. The Government of Andhra Pradesh granted exemption in respect of installation of Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) on rooftops and on land based installations. It is stated that vide Government Memo dated 22.12.2004, the Government exempted the petitioner from operation of the building regulations to erect and construct Base Transceiver Stations with related services within the jurisdiction and administrative control of any Gram Panchayat, Mandal Praja Parishad or Zilla Parishad. It is stated that though the Government in exercise of powers under Part-7 of the A.P.Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 granted exemption, the 3rd respondent-Gram Panchayat issued a notice not to install the Base Transceiver Stations without obtaining permission from the Gram Panchayat and directed the petitioner to remove the tower within three days. For the said notice, the petitioner given a reply stating that as the exemption was already granted by the Government in exercise of powers under Part-7 of the A.P.Panchayat Raj Act, there is no need to obtain any permission from the Gram Panchayat, and therefore the action of the 3rd respondent in ignoring the directions issued by the Government is illegal and arbitrary. This Court, while admitting the writ petition, directed the 3rd respondent not to interfere with the installation and operation of the Base Transceiver Stations and related equipment without giving any notice and without giving any reasonable opportunity to the petitioner. I am of the opinion that in view of the said interim order no orders need be passed in this writ petition. The writ petition is accordingly disposed of, in terms of the interim order dated 02.03.2006. No order as to costs. _____________________ V.ESWARAIAH,J Dated: 29.04.2009 Dsr .... REGISTRAR // TRUE COPY // SECTION OFFICER To 1 Government of A.P., Rep by its Principal Secretary, Panchayat Raj & Rural Development Department, Secretariat Buildings, Hyderabad. 2 Gram Panchayat, Rep by its Sarpanch Aravelli Gram- Panchayat, Attili Mandal, West Godavari District. 3 Panchayat Secretary, Gram Panchayat Aravelli, Attili Mandal, West Godavari District. 4 2. 2CCs to 5. 2CD copies