HYDERABAD: Justice K Lakshman of the Telangana High Court adjourned the hearing on a criminal petition filed by BRS president and former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and former irrigation minister T Harish Rao, seeking the quashing of an order passed on July 10 by the Principal Sessions Judge, Jayashankar-Bhupalpally, in connection with a private complaint alleging large-scale misappropriation of government funds in the construction of Medigadda barrage to February 24.
During the course of arguments, Justice Lakshman questioned counsel for the defacto complainant and social activist Nagavelli Rajalingamurthy about his client’s status. The counsel informed the court that Rajalingamurthy had passed away on Wednesday. Upon learning this, the judge observed that the criminal petition filed by Chandrasekhar Rao and Harish Rao had become “infructuous” and would be automatically closed.
However, Public Prosecutor Palle Nageshwar Rao intervened and urged the court to keep the adjudication of the criminal petition alive for investigative purposes. He argued that the investigation must continue to ensure that those responsible for the alleged financial misconduct are brought to justice. He also cited Supreme Court and Karnataka High Court judgments that allow petitions in private complaints to be heard even after the complainant’s demise. The public prosecutor sought a week’s time to present relevant judicial precedents before the court.
Justice Lakshman, after hearing the submissions, clarified that the court would not delve into the merits of the case given that the complainant is no more. However, he granted time for the public prosecutor to submit judgments supporting his contention and adjourned the matter to February 24.
Earlier, Justice Lakshman had suspended the July 10, 2024 order of the Principal Sessions Judge, which granted relief to both the BRS leaders from appearing before the lower court.
The private complaint, filed by the late social activist Rajalingamurthy before the Principal Sessions Judge, alleged massive financial irregularities and misappropriation of government funds by KCR, Harish Rao and several top officials, including Irrigation Secretary Rajat Kumar, then CMO Secretary Smitha Sabharwal, Engineer-in-Chief Sridhar, and officials from Megha Constructions and L&T. The complaint claimed that their actions resulted in the loss of crores to the state exchequer, with the Medigadda barrage now in a damaged state.