Telangana High Court Extends Interim Protection to KCR and Others
The Telangana High Court in Hyderabad extended interim protection on Monday for former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, former minister T Harish Rao, former bureaucrat SK Joshi, and senior IAS officer Smita Sabharwal. The court granted this relief in petitions challenging the PC Ghose commission report on alleged irregularities in the Kaleshwaram project.
Court Adjourns Hearing to February 25
A bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin adjourned the matter to February 25 for further hearing. The bench directed all parties to file written submissions one week before the next hearing date.
Delays in Filing Submissions Highlighted
During the hearing, the advocate general informed the court that the state could not file written submissions as per earlier directions from November 2025. The state cited recent replies filed by the petitioners as the reason for this delay.
In the first petition, a reply was filed on Monday. In two other petitions, the replies were filed on January 17.
The petitioners' counsels responded by pointing out delays from the state's side. They referred to an earlier court order that required the state to file its counter by December 10. The state filed its counter only on January 6, nearly a month later.
The counsels emphasized that the state delayed filing without seeking any extension or providing any communication about the delay.
Petitioners Explain Their Filing Timeline
According to the petitioners' counsels, the November 12 order gave the state four weeks to file counters. After that, the petitioners had three weeks to file their replies.
Since the state filed its counter on January 6, the petitioners argued they should have filed their replies by January 27. However, because the matter was listed for hearing on Monday, they filed their replies accordingly.
The bench recorded these submissions and set the next hearing for February 25. The court's decision to extend interim protection provides temporary legal relief to the former officials while the case proceeds.
