Hyderabad:The Telangana High Court on Wednesday expressed dissatisfaction with the state government for delaying the filing of counter-affidavits in petitions challenging the P.C. Ghose Commission report on alleged irregularities in the Kaleswaram Lift Irrigation Project.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Moinuddin was informed that the state had filed a counter only in the petition submitted by former chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao. The government sought additional time to file counters in three other petitions filed by former minister T. Harish Rao, retired bureaucrat Shailendra Kumar Joshi, and senior IAS officer Smita Sabharwal.
The bench took exception to the delay, noting that the government had already been given a month to submit the affidavits. It granted another four weeks to complete the process and allowed the petitioners three additional weeks to file their replies.
The case has been adjourned to January 19, 2026, with the interim order, preventing the government from acting on the commission’s findings, to remain in force.
During the hearing, the state’s counsel said that the content of the pending affidavits would not differ much from the one already filed. However, the petitioners’ counsel objected, arguing that each petitioner faced distinct allegations and required individual responses.
The bench noted that only one counter-affidavit had been filed despite sufficient time being given and postponed further hearing to the next date.
