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Plea before Telangana HC against ‘pigeon menace’: Bench directs petitioner to approach Hyderabad civic body first

The petitioner, Dr Radheshyam Tapadia, sought the Telangana High Court’s intervention to direct the GHMC to exercise its powers to restrict pigeon feeding in residential areas, hospitals, and historical monuments.

3 min readHyderabadUpdated: Jan 7, 2026 08:20 PM IST

The petitioner’s contention is that there was a large-scale menace happening in the state because pigeons are causing certain kinds of diseases. (Credit: Unsplash)

The Telangana High Court Wednesday directed a public interest litigant to first approach the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) regarding the menace of pigeons, as mentioned in his plea.

A division bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G M Mohiuddin was dealing with the registry’s objection to listing the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a city-based doctor and adjourned the matter for further hearing after eight weeks. Among other things, the petitioner listed out the GHMC’s inaction in exercising its statutory powers to restrict pigeon feeding, specifically in residential areas, hospitals, and historical monuments.

Appearing for the petitioner Dr Radheshyam Tapadia, senior counsel L Ravichander submitted that there was no alternative remedy before the petitioner as suggested by the registry. He stated that he had not made any representation before any authority because the issue at hand warrants various authorities to act in unison. The petitioner’s contention is that there was a large-scale menace happening in the state because pigeons are causing certain kinds of diseases.

Responding to the submissions, the bench said, “Let the corporation have a notice from you and let them be ready to respond. They might have taken some steps also. Thereafter, we will enter into the matter, if required.”

The bench noted that there are underlying reasons why it insists that the corporation be warned or apprised that it was a default on their part in performing a statutory duty which not only applies to a person, but others also.

‘GHMC’s inaction illegal and arbitrary’

The petitioner sought the court’s intervention to direct the GHMC to exercise its statutory powers to restrict pigeon feeding, specifically in residential areas, hospitals, and historical monuments. He also sought to declare the civic body’s inaction as illegal and arbitrary for failing to implement pigeon-feeding regulations under Section 115(20) of the GHMC Act, 1955, violating Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution and the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897.

Besides, he sought to enforce sanitation and penalties, requiring the authorities to regularly clean affected public spaces and fine individuals for unauthorised feeding that causes environmental pollution, as per the guidelines in Virender Gaur vs State of Haryana. The prayer also seeks implementation of humane population control and public awareness campaigns on the health risks associated with high pigeon concentrations in urban areas.

Rahul V Pisharody

Rahul V Pisharody is Assistant Editor with the Indian Express Online and has been reporting for IE on various news developments from Telangana since 2019. He is currently reporting on legal matters from the Telangana High Court. Rahul started his career as a journalist in 2011 with The New Indian Express and worked in different roles at the Hyderabad bureau for over 8 years. As Deputy Metro Editor, he was in charge of the Hyderabad bureau of the newspaper and coordinated with the team of city reporters, district correspondents, other centres and internet desk for over three years. A native of Palakkad in Kerala, Rahul has a Master's degree in Communication (Print and New Media) from the University of Hyderabad and a Bachelor's degree in Business Management from PSG College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore. ... Read More