The Supreme Court on Thursday accepted the petition filed by the Odisha Government on Wednesday against the Andhra Pradesh Government over the Kotia inter-State border dispute. The hearing in the matter would be held on Friday.
Mentioning in its petition that the Supreme Court had in 1968 ordered to maintain status quo in the disputed area of Kotia, the Odisha Government has sought contempt of court proceedings against its Andhra Pradesh counterparts.
The Odisha Government has also prayed before the apex court for a speedy hearing in the matter. The Odisha Government had earlier written to its Supreme Court Advocate on Record (AoR) Sibo Sankar Mishra directing him to file a writ petition in the court challenging the Andhra Pradesh notification for holding of panchayat elections in three villages of Kotia gram panchayat in Koraput district.
Notably, the border dispute between Odisha and Andhra Pradesh emerged as the latter included Talaganjeipadar, Phatuseneri and Phagunaseneri villages under its Salur block and announced panchayat polls in the three villages. It is for the first time that elections to the panchayat bodies have been announced in the block by Andhra Pradesh.