Date of reserved for orders : - - - Date of pronouncement : 08.07.2026 Date of uploading : 15.07.2026 APHC010246692026 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI (Special Original Jurisdiction) [3327] WEDNESDAY, THE 8th DAY OF JULY 2026 PRESENT THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE K SREENIVASA REDDY WRIT PETITION NO: 13155/2026 Between: 1. GOKIVADA RAMA KRISHNA, S/O. LATE POTURAJU NAIDU, AGED 40 YEARS, R/O. PEDAPUDI VILLAGE, BUTCHAYYAPETA MANDAL, ANAKAPALLI DISTRICT- 531025 ...PETITIONER AND 1. THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH, REP.BY ITS PRINCIPAL SECRETARY, PANCHAYAT RAJ AND RURAL DEVELOPMENTDEPARTMENT, SECRETARIAT BUILDINGS, VELAGAPUDI, GUNTUR DISTRICT. 522 238 2. THESTATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH, REP. BY ITS PRINCIPAL SECRETARY, FINANCE AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT, SECRETARIAT BUILDINGS, VELAGAPUDI GUNTUR DISTRICT.522 238 3. THE COMMISSIONER, PANCHAYATRAJ AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, GOVERNMENT OF ANDHRA PRADESH, PVS I CON BUILDING, TADEPALLI, GINTUR DISTRICT. 522 501 4. THE DISTRICT COLLECTOR CUM PROJECT DIRECTOR DWMA, ANAKAPALLI DISTRICT, ANAKAPALLI. 5. THE SUPERINTENDING ENGINEER, PR CIRCLE, VISAKHAPATHAM, VISAKHAPATNAM DISTRICT. 530 001 6. THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER, PRI PIU DIVISION ANAKAPALLI ANAKAPALLI DISTRICT. 531 001 7. THE DEPUTY EXECUTIVE ENGINEER PRI, PRI SUB DIVISION CHODAVARAM, VISAKHAPATNAM DISTRICT NOW ANAKAPALLI DISTRICT. 531001 8. THE MANDAL PARISHAD DEVELOPMENT OFFICER, BUTCHAYYAPETA MANDAL, ANAKAPALLI DISTRICT. 531 001. SRK, J W.P.No.13155 of 2026 2 9. THE PEDAPUDI GRAM PANCHAYAT, REP. BY ITS PANCHAYAT SECRETARY, PEDAPUDIVILLAGE, BUTCHAYYAPETA MANDAL VISAKHAPATNAM DISTRICT NOW ANAKAPALLIDISTRICT-531025 ...RESPONDENT(S): Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed therewith, the High Court may be pleased to issue a Writ, order or direction, more particularly one in the nature of a Writ of Mandamus, declaring the action of the Respondents in not releasing and paying an amount of Rs.5,77,641.51/- which is long overdue to the petitioner along with the interest 12 percent from the respective dates of preparation of final bill till the date of payment as illegal, highly arbitrary, high- handed, violative of the established principles of law and further violative of rights of the Petitioner under Article 14, 19 of the Constitution of India and consequently direct the respondents to make a payment of an amount of Rs.5,77,641.51/- which is long overdue to the petitioner along with the interest from the respective dates of preparation of final bill till the date of payment 12 percent interest and pass IA NO: 1 OF 2026 Petition under Section 151 CPC praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed in support of the petition, the High Court may be pleased to direct the respondents to make a payment of an amount of Rs.5,77,641.51 which is long overdue to the petitioner along with the interest from the respective dates of preparation of final bill till the date of payment 12 percent interest, forthwith, pending disposal of the present Writ Petition and pass Counsel for the Petitioner: 1. G VIVEKANAND Counsel for the Respondent(S): 1. GP FOR PANCHAYAT RAJ RURAL DEV 2. Yarraguntla.Koteswara Rao,Standing Counsel For Zilla Praja Parishads,Mandal Praja Parishads and Gra 3. GP FOR FINANCE PLANNING The Court made the following: SRK, J W.P.No.13155 of 2026 3 O R D E R This Writ Petition is filed seeking the following relief: “….to issue an appropriate Writ, Order or direction more particularly one in the nature of Writ of Mandamus, declaring the action of the respondents in not releasing and paying an amount of Rs.5,77,641.51 paise which is long overdue to the petitioner along with interest @ 12% from the respective dates of preparation of final bill till the date of payment, as illegal, highly arbitrary, high- handed, violative of the established principles of law and further violative of rights of the petitioner under Articles 14 and 19 of the Constitution of India, and consequently, direct the respondents to make payment of the said sum as prayed for and pass such other order or orders …” 2. Heard learned counsel for the Writ Petitioner, learned Assistant Government Pleader for Panchayat Raj and Rural Development representing respondent Nos.1, 3 to 7, learned Assistant Government Pleader for Finance, representing respondent No.2, and learned Standing Counsel for Gram Panchayat, representing respondent Nos.8 and 9. 3. The Writ Petitioner claims to be a Civil Contractor. The Writ Petitioner was awarded contract work of construction of pucca internal roads/streets including drainage system and culverts from internal roads and drain in Pedapudi Gram Panchayat with ID No.037072032036080056 with an estimated cost of Rs.10.00 lakhs, and construction of pucca internal roads/streets including drainage SRK, J W.P.No.13155 of 2026 4 system and culverts from internal roads and drain in Chinnayyapalem, H/o.Pedapudi Gram Panchayat with ID No.037072032036080054 with an estimated cost of Rs.10.00 lakhs. The Writ Petitioner executed the entire work within time and entries were made in the M-Book. Though the assigned work was completed by the Writ Petitioner, an amount of Rs.5,77,641.51 paise was kept pending by the respondent authorities. Even the Writ Petitioner approached the respondent authorities on multiple occasions, requesting for payment of pending bill amount of Rs.5,77,641.51 paise, they are not doing so. According to Writ Petitioner, having executed the work satisfactorily, within the prescribed time, non-payment of the bill amount was arbitrary and unjustified. It was further contended that the delay in payment is causing severe financial hardship, necessitating the filing of the present Writ Petition seeking appropriate directions for release of the outstanding amount. 4. Learned Assistant Government Pleader for Panchayat Raj and Rural Development, on written instructions received from the Deputy Executive Engineer, PRI Sub-Division, Chodavaram-7th respondent, submits that that there is no dispute with regard to the execution of the subject work by the Writ Petitioner. She further submits that the Writ Petitioner is entitled to an amount of SRK, J W.P.No.13155 of 2026 5 Rs.5,33,901/- after statutory deductions such as Income Tax, QC Recovery etc., aggregating to Rs.43,742/-, and that proposal was submitted to the Commissioner, Rural Development through the District Collector vide Lr.RC.No.174/2025/DBT, dated 30.03.2026 of the District Collector and the District Programme Co-ordinator MGNREGS, Anakapalli District to enable the work ID’s in the NIC Portal, and seeks time for payment of the said amount. The written instructions are placed on record. 5. Learned Standing Counsel for Gram Panchayat, representing respondent Nos.8 and 9 concedes with the submission made by the learned Assistant Government Pleader for Panchayat Raj. 6. Having regard to the fact that there is no dispute with regard to the works executed by the Writ Petitioner and the amount payable to him, and in view of the submissions of the learned Assistant Government Pleader for Panchayat Raj, the respondent authorities are directed to pay net amount/admitted amount of Rs.5,33,901/- (Rupees Five Lakhs Thirty Three Thousand Nine Hundred and One Only) to the Writ Petitioner within a period of Four (4) weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. SRK, J W.P.No.13155 of 2026 6 7. Accordingly, the Writ Petition is disposed of. There shall be no order as to costs of the Writ Petition. As a sequel thereto, the miscellaneous applications, if any, pending in this Writ Petition, shall stand closed. JUSTICE K. SREENIVASA REDDY 8th July, 2026. DNB Whether the Order is: Speaking ✓ Reasoned Reportable Non-reportable ✓