Orissa to move Supreme Court on Kutia villages case: Samal

Bhubaneswar, Apr 4 (UNI) Orissa Revenue Minister Manmohan Samal today said that the government will appeal the Supreme Court to refer its prayer for territorial administration of Kutia group of villages claimed by the Andhra Pradesh to a Constitution bench.

Making a statement in the State Assembly following a hue and cry among the ruling BJD-BJP members over a recent Supreme Court judgment on the maintainability of the suit filed by Orissa government, Mr Samal said the Apex court had not given any opinion on the merit of the suit.

He said the state Government had filed two cases in the Supreme Court against the Andhra Pradesh Government to establish their claim over Kutiya group of villages under article 131 of the constitution of India.

The Court in 1968 had ordered that status quo be maintained by both the states and there should not be any ingress or egress on the territories in dispute on the part of either party.

He said the original suit came up for hearing on March 29 and the counsel intimated that both the parties had sought time. But the Court reluctantly adjourned the case till March 30.

On that date the Supreme Court,the Revenue Minister said, heard the hearing on the question of maintainability of the suit and observed that it was not maintainable following the provision of Article 131 of the constitution.

The court, however, directed the parties to maintain status quo until it was altered in accordance with the law.

Mr Samal said the Kutiya group of villages formed a part of Orissa and the state had been running its administration till the constitution of Andhra Pradesh in 1953.

Soon after the formation of Andhra Pradesh, they questioned the territorial and administrative jurisdiction of Orissa over these villages and tried to collect land revenue from the inhabitant of the villages claiming that these villages were in Andhra Pradesh.

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