The Telangana High Court on Thursday directed the state authorities to assist the court with an audiovisual presentation, to be played in the courtroom, regarding the alignment of Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited’s (HMRL) proposed Corridor VI as part of the phase II project, since oral arguments were not taking the proceedings forward.
A division bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G M Mohiuddin was hearing a PIL petition tagged along with a writ petition that sought a halt on all construction activities pertaining to HMRL within the Charminar heritage precinct and Falaknuma precinct and other affected heritage precincts until an independent expert committee conducts a comprehensive heritage impact assessment, and necessary statutory approvals are obtained as per the Telangana Heritage Act 2017 and the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958.
Advocate Immaneni Rama Rao, appearing for the PIL petitioner, Act Public Welfare Foundation, contended that no construction, demolition, or excavation can be carried out in the notified Charminar precinct 10 and Falaknuma precinct 12, as defined under government order Ms 4 dated January 2, 2003. He also presented the response to an RTI query to argue that the Government has not obtained any permission for demolition or construction.
‘Oral arguments are not taking us anywhere’
Appearing for the Government, Additional Advocate-General Md Imran Khan, submitted eight sketches of the proposed corridor as he had volunteered to during the last hearing. He contended that a tirade had been made against the Government and that not a word of it was true.
“Wherever the metro rail is going, it is either going above or by the side of such structures. Not one heritage structure has been touched till now,” he said. According to him, a window and a compound wall will be affected, and the state will obtain the requisite permissions before proceeding.
About the RTI response, the additional advocate-general said no heritage impact assessment or permissions were required as the corridor was proposed about 700m to 1 km away from the Charminar. He stated that no construction or demolition was allowed without permission within a 500m radius of the Charminar and that the proposed corridor was beyond it.
Responding to these submissions, the bench said, “Why don’t you show it on a screen…instead of giving it on paper, it can be shown on a screen.”
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The additional advocate-general then said he would prepare a projected simulation using artificial intelligence with all the heritage structures marked in red.
The bench pointed out that “the oral arguments are not taking us anywhere”.
The matter was then posted for further hearing on January 8, 2026.
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