HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Wednesday reserved orders until August 14 on the Registry’s objections to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by BRS MLA T Harish Rao, seeking directions to the state government to release input subsidy to farmers affected by crop loss.
The PIL states that although the state issued Government Orders (GO No. 567 and related proceedings) granting administrative sanction for compensation to nearly 10 lakh farmers whose crops were damaged by heavy rains and cyclones, the funds have not been released except to around 10,000 farmers in Adilabad district.
During the hearing, a bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin repeatedly questioned the maintainability of the PIL, observing that courts exercising writ jurisdiction cannot ordinarily direct the executive on how and when to disburse public funds. The Chief Justice said decisions on the allocation and release of funds involve budgetary priorities, revenue considerations and administrative discretion, and observed that courts cannot assume the role of implementing GOs.
The bench also noted that the petitioner was an MLA and observed that such grievances could be raised before the Legislature and the government.
Senior counsel for the petitioner argued that once the government had framed a policy, identified beneficiaries, quantified compensation and issued the relevant Government Orders under its executive powers under Article 162 of the Constitution, failure to implement them amounted to arbitrary executive inaction. Counsel relied on constitutional principles governing executive power and Supreme Court judgments, including Ram Jawaya Kapur v. State of Punjab, to argue that the court could intervene to ensure implementation of an existing policy.
After hearing both sides, the bench reserved orders on the Registry’s objections and posted the matter for pronouncement on August 14, 2026.