HYDERABAD: The affidavits filed by the principal finance secretary on arrears payable by the state government and GHMC to the TSRTC are not just vague and contradictory, but purposefully and intentionally falsified, the Telangana High Court has said. It then directed Chief Secretary SK Joshi, Principal Finance Secretary K Ramakrishna Rao, GHMC commissioner Lokesh Kumar, TSRTC in-charge managing director and principal secretary to transport Sunil Sharma to appear before it on November 7. Besides, Sharma will have till Wednesday to file a fresh affidavit on the dues the government and GHMC owe the TSRTC.
A division bench, comprising Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice A Abhishek Reddy, passed this order on November 1, and it was brought to the public domain on Sunday. Pursuant to an earlier direction of the court, Sharma filed an additional counter affidavit on November 1 saying the state government released the entire amount of Rs 644.51 crore to the TSRTC towards reimbursement of concession for financial year 2018-19.
The corporation agrees that it has been paid more than the amount due from the government, he contended, adding that the GHMC does not owe the TSRTC any money for reimbursement of its losses.
After perusing the affidavit, the bench noted that it was not supported by relevant documentary evidence and that it was full of self-contradictions. If the GHMC was indeed in a “critical financial position” in 2016, it was rather surprising that it could pay Rs 228.40 crore to the TSRTC that year, the court remarked, adding that the GHMC could obviously not have paid such a huge amount as a philanthropic gesture.
Referring to the affidavit filed earlier by the principal finance secretary, the bench said the officer stated that the GHMC owed Rs 1,492 crore to the corporation, of which it paid only Rs 335 crore. He also said that even the balance amount, as payable by the GHMC, was met by the government itself. Therefore, the GHMC is not justified in claiming that under Section 112(30) of the GHMC Act, it is not bound to pay the corporation, the bench noted, adding that a bare perusal of the affidavits filed by both officers clearly reveals that both affidavits are contradictory.
With regard to the submission of senior counsel D Prakash Reddy, appearing for the trade unions - that the total amount to be received from the state government and GHMC is Rs 2,272.06 crore, as per information provided by the TSRTC to Transport Minister P Ajay Kumar -the bench said the information given by the corporation is a vital piece of evidence, and the corporation cannot misguide its own minister.
While the corporation said the government owes it Rs 560.75 crore, Sunil Sharma’s affidavit claimed: “The corporation had already been paid over and above the amount owed by the government.”
Furthermore, in the information submitted to the minister, it is claimed that the GHMC owes Rs 1,492 crore, but in the affidavit, the in-charge MD stated that merely Rs 336.40 crore has been paid by the GHMC in 2015-16 and 2016-17. Thus, the GHMC owes Rs 1,155.60 crore. Therefore, the affidavit filed by Sunil Sharma clearly contradicts the stand taken by the corporation before its minister. Hence, this court is of the opinion that the affidavit is not only vague and contradictory, but also purposefully and intentionally false, the bench observed.
The court directed Sharma to submit an affidavit, that is not only true, but also in consonance with the information provided by the TSRTC to the transport minister, and to inform the court about the arrears payable by the GHMC to the corporation for 2018-19. The bench posted the matter to November 7 for further hearing.