Andhra Pradesh High Court declares challenges to three-capital plan moot after Amaravati gains statutory status

A three-judge panel of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, comprising Chief Justice Lisa Gill, Justice Nainala Jaya Surya and Justice B S Bhanumathi, declared all pending petitions against the YSR Congress party's three-capital plan infructuous after Parliament passed legislation granting Amaravati statutory status as the state capital. Consequently, the bench dismissed the challenges and adjourned further hearings on Amaravati-related issues to November 20, while awaiting the Supreme Court's decision on a special leave petition filed on September 17, 2022, by the YSRCP government against the high court's March 3, 2022 judgment that affirmed Amaravati as the sole capital and set infrastructure deadlines.

The 2020 reforms had repealed the APCRDA Act and introduced a decentralisation law establishing three capitals, prompting farmers to sue. The high court had ordered the government to honor land-pooling agreements and complete basic infrastructure, but the Supreme Court stayed those deadlines. State advocate Dammalapati Srinivas reported rapid progress on development and pledged completion within three years, whereas farmer representative Unnam Muralidhar Rao argued many works remain unfinished.