( 1 ) GOVERNMENT of Andhra Pradesh in municipal Administration and Urban development Department is the appellant in this Letters Patent Appeal, filed against the judgment of the learned Single Judge dated 31-7-2000 in Writ Petition No. 14245 of 2001. The parties herein shall be referred to by their status in the writ petition.

( 2 ) THE petitioner (1st respondent herein) filed the abovementioned writ petition praying for a declaration that the action of the authorities in not conducting elections to Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad, is arbitrary, illegal, violative of fundamental right under Article 14 of the Constitution and contrary to the provisions contained in part LX-A of the Constitution. The petitioner also prayed for a consequential direction to the respondents, namely the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the Municipal corporation of Hyderabad and the State election Commission (for short the SEC ) to take immediate steps for the conduct of elections to the 2nd respondent- corporation.

( 3 ) IN the affidavit accompanying the writ petition the petitioner while referring to various provisions of the Constitution, to wit, Articles 40,243-P, 243-R, etc. , state