IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) MONDAY, THE THIRTY FIRST DAY OF JANUARY TWO THOUSAND AND FIVE PRESENT THE HON'BLE SRI DEVINDER GUPTA, THE CHIEF JUSTICE and THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE M.NARAYANA REDDY WRIT PETITION No. 24004 of 2004 Between: M. Gopalakrishna Murthy, S/o. Late Satyanarayana, Hindu, R/o. Vijayawada. ..... PETITIONER AND 1. The Commissioner, Social Welfare Department, Government of A.P., Hyderabad. 2. The Commissioner, Backward Class Welfare Department, Government of A.P., Hyderabad. 3. The Director of Tribal Welfare Department, Government of A.P., Hyderabad. .....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 issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of Mandamus declaring the inaction of the respondents 1 to 3 herein on the representation of the petitioner dated: 5.10.2004 for permission to visit the various Residential Schools and Hostels situated in the State of A.P., to gather information from inmates of the said schools and hostels regarding the illegalities and irregularities committed by the staff and publishing the same in the newspaper " Public Demand" for the benefit of the public as being illegal, arbitrary. Counsel for the Petitioner: Mr. RAMANA ALLU Counsel for the Respondents: GP FOR SOCIAL WELFARE The Court made the following : ORAL ORDER: (per Honourable Sri Devinder Gupta, the Chief Justice) The petitioner claims himself to be the Editor-in-Chief of monthly paper “Public Demand”, and, seeks in this Writ Petition filed as Public Interest Litigation, a direction against the respondents to issue further instructions to all Managers and staff members of all residential schools and hostels within the control of respondents being housed by the students of SCs, STs and BCs to provide whatever information petitioner would like to gather or obtain from them on being visited by the staff of the newspaper “Public Demand”, and, for publishing the same in the news paper. We have, umpteen number of times, asked the learned counsel for the petitioner as to what is the right of the petitioner to elicit information from the residential schools and hostels within the control of the respondents, but, he is not in a position to inform us about his right. We also do not find that the petitioner has got any right to obtain such information. The Writ Petition, therefore, is dismissed. No costs. ______________________ DEVINDER GUPTA, C.J. 31.1.2005. ________________________ M.NARAYANA REDDY, J. VR. To 1. The Commissioner, Social Welfare Department, Government of A.P., Hyderabad. 2. The Commissioner, Backward Class Welfare Department, Government of A.P., Hyderabad. 3. The Director of Tribal Welfare Department, Government of A.P., Hyderabad. 4. Two CCs to Government Pleader for Social Welfare, High Court Buildings, Hyderabad (OUT). 5. Two CD copies.