NALLURI VENKATARAJU Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Two of the residents of Balakrishnapuram, Tiruitanj Taluk, which was till the 1st of April, 1930 a part of Chittoor District, question the vires of the Andhra Pradesh and Madras (Alteration of Boundaries) Act, 1959, (hereinafter referred to as the Act for the sake of brevity). They seek a writ of mandamus to restrain the State of Andhra Pradesh from enforcing the provisions of the said Act.

(2.) It is necessary to trace briefly the origin of the Act. On 1/10/1953, the Andhra State was formed under the Andhra State Act, 1953. At that time, the boundaries between the Andhra State and the State of Madras and Mysore were not finally settled and the Prime Minister of India announced that a Boundary Commission or Commissions might have to be appointed to determine the exact boundaries of these States. Pursuant to this, several steps were taken for adjusting the boundaries between Andhra and Madras States and a census of the various border villages was collected by the officers appointed by the Government of India. Ministers of both the States had protracted negotiations regarding these areas and the concerned Chief Ministers had also participated in these matters.

(3.) ubsequently, Sri H. V. Pataskar was appointed by the Union Government to mediate in the disputes between the two States. To facilitate the work in this behalf, the Government of Madras supplied Sri Pataskar with a map relating to the border villages based on the census of 1951.