Apex court not for pulling out forces from Osmania

New Delhi, Feb 19 (IANS) The Supreme Court Friday suspended the Andhra Pradesh High Court order to the state government to pull out central paramilitary forces from Osmania University campus, dubbed as the hotbed of the Telangana movement.

While staying the high court order till Feb 23, a bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and T.S. Thakur asked the state home secretary to keep monitoring the deployment of central forces on the campus on a day-to-day basis and prepare a daily report of the situation there.

The bench directed the home secretary to ensure that the paramilitary forces, stationed on the campus, do not misbehave with the students in any manner.

The bench also ordered him to ensure that forces operate strictly under his personal supervision.

The apex court order came on a lawsuit by the state government challenging the high court order to pull out paramilitary forces from the campus.

Appearing for the Andhra Pradesh government, senior counsel Harish Salve alleged that Maoists have infiltrated the movement and are inside the campus, among the students.

The allegation, however, was refuted by students' counsel Prashant Bhushan.

The Andhra Pradesh government approached the apex court Thursday against the high court order to pull out paramilitary forces from the university campus.

The state government challenged the high court's Feb 16 order contending that the high court cannot order the removal of paramilitary forces from the campus, which is a hotbed of the agitation for a separate Telangana state.