Andhra Pradesh: HC allows withdrawal of pleas on loading of rice

Andhra Pradesh high court on Thursday permitted petitioners to withdraw three separate petitions seeking directions to authorities to allow the loading of parboiled rice onto MV Stella vessel at Kakinada port.During the hearing, additional advocate general Sambasiva Pratap informed the court that the petitioners had all necessary permissions to export parboiled rice. He clarified that the ongoing unloading of 1,320 metric tons of smuggled PDS rice from the vessel would be completed before allowing the petitioners to load their rice.

Senior advocate S Srinivasa Reddy, representing the petitioners, confirmed that consultations with the authorities resolved the issue, and permission has been granted to load the parboiled rice. However, the petitioners requested flexibility to approach the court again if future decisions by the authorities were unfavourable. Justice Nimmagadda Venkateswarulu, recording arguments from both sides, allowed the petitioners to withdraw their cases. He also acknowledged their request to retain the option of returning to court if needed.

The petitions were filed by Chitra Agri Exports MD KV Bhaskar Reddy, Padmasree rice mill MD Potamshetty Gangireddy, and Surya Sri rice mill MD Potamshetty Vishwanath Reddy, alleging that the Kakinada district collector and port officer were obstructing the loading of their rice based on verbal orders from the deputy chief minister.

This article has been republished from The Times of India.