A.P. High Court says ‘three capitals’ petitions overtaken by Amaravati law
The Andhra Pradesh High Court has said amendments recognising Amaravati as the State’s sole capital have made a batch of petitions against the proposed three-capital plan infructuous. Some petitioners argued that capital works and land-related obligations remained unresolved, while the Supreme Court appeals are expected to be considered in November.
The Andhra Pradesh High Court has observed that a batch of petitions challenging the proposed three-capital plan has become infructuous after Parliament gave statutory recognition to Amaravati as the State’s sole capital. A full Bench led by Chief Justice Lisa Gill, with Justices Ninala Jayasurya and B.S. Bhanumathi, considered the petitions on September 25.
The Bench said the legal position had changed following an amendment to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2014. Justice Gill said any matters that remained pending would be examined on November 20. The Bench also took note of the possibility that appeals against the High Court’s March 3, 2022, Amaravati judgment could be heard by the Supreme Court on November 29.
Advocate-General Dammalapati Srinivas told the court that the State government had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court in December 2024, committing to complete infrastructure projects in Amaravati within three years. He said work was proceeding and argued that the writ petitions should be closed after the relevant facts were recorded. Counsel for some petitioners said the government should withdraw the appeal filed by the former YSR Congress Party government against the High Court judgment on laws that enabled the three-capital plan.
Senior advocate Unnam Muralidhar Rao also said capital works were incomplete and that farmers who had given land had not received developed plots. The proposed arrangement, announced in 2019, envisaged Amaravati, Visakhapatnam and Kurnool as the Legislative, Executive and Judicial capitals. The plan triggered protests, particularly among farmers who contributed land under the land pooling scheme.
Parliament’s amendment in April 2026 recognised Amaravati as the only capital.
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