HYDERABAD: Justice N Rajeshwar Rao of the Telangana High Court has directed the Principal Secretary to the Government, Finance Department, to furnish within two weeks comprehensive data related to all retired state government employees who are awaiting payment of their post-retirement benefits, including the token numbers issued by the department.
The judge was hearing a batch of writ petitions and contempt cases filed by retired government employees, alleging non-payment of retirement benefits, in violation of high court orders. The Court adjourned the matters for further adjudication after two weeks.
The contempt proceedings have been initiated by 764 retired employees, contending that the state government has failed to comply with judicial directions requiring release of their retirement dues. Aggrieved by the continued delay, the retirees approached the high court, seeking action against the authorities concerned.
The issue had earlier drawn the court’s attention before the summer vacation, when Justice N Rajeshwar Rao summoned Principal Secretary (Finance) Sandeep Kumar Sultania.
The finance secretary appeared before the court through video conferencing and apprised the judge of the number of cases that had been cleared and those that remained pending. During the hearing, the court expressed serious concern over the prolonged delay in disbursing post-retirement benefits to nearly 2,600 retired employees. The judge noted that retired employees had been waiting for their lawful dues despite repeated assurances from the government.
More than 50 contempt cases have been filed by retired personnel who served in various capacities across the state, including as Secondary Grade Teachers, School Assistants, Head Masters, Deputy Executive Engineers, Sub-Inspectors of Police and Assistant Sub-Inspectors of Police. The petitioners have alleged inaction on the part of the state government in releasing their legitimate retirement benefits.
Earlier, in April 2026, the Finance secretary informed the court that out of 3,650 tokens issued for processing retirement benefits, 1,056 had been cleared. He had further assured the court that the remaining 2,600 pending cases would be cleared by the end of April 2026.
Taking note of the continued pendency, Justice Rajeshwar Rao has now directed the Government Pleader for Finance and other concerned authorities to place the updated information before the court within two weeks, enabling the court to assess the status of compliance and consider further action in the pending writ petitions and contempt cases.