HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Wednesday expressed displeasure over the state government’s delay in filing counter affidavits in the petitions challenging the Justice PC Ghose Commission report on alleged irregularities in the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin noted that despite being granted a month’s time earlier, the government had filed its counter in only one of the four petitions.
“You were given a month and yet you didn’t file counters,” the bench remarked, while granting the government four more weeks to file the remaining counter affidavits.
It also allowed the petitioners three weeks thereafter to file their rejoinders and adjourned the matter to January 19, 2026, extending the interim protection already granted to the petitioners.
The petitions were filed by former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, former minister T Harish Rao, retired bureaucrat Shailendra Kumar Joshi, and senior IAS officer Smita Sabharwal, challenging the findings of the Ghose Commission and seeking suspension of its report.
At the outset of the hearing, the state’s counsel informed the bench that a counter affidavit had been filed in the petition filed by KCR and that his counsel had already filed a reply to it.
The counsel sought “a few more days” to file them, stating there would not be much variation between the affidavits.
Opposing the request, the petitioners’ counsel pointed out that each of his clients faced distinct allegations, which must be addressed individually.
The Telangana High Court bench, taking note of the submissions, observed that “a counter affidavit has been filed only in one of the batch petitions, even after sufficient time being granted”, and adjourned the matter.