HYDERABAD: In a major relief to thousands of beneficiaries, the Telangana High Court on Tuesday stayed the August 12, 2026 order passed by Justice NV Shravan Kumar staying eight Government Orders (GOs) relating to financial assistance under the Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak welfare schemes.
Tuesday’s order by the bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin paves the way for resumption of financial assistance to eligible unmarried girls belonging to SC, ST, BC/OBC, minority and other categories, including persons with disabilities.
During the hearing of the writ appeal, the Chief Justice specifically questioned petitioner Vijay Gopal, an advocate, whether the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had issued any adverse finding or “indictment” stating that extending financial assistance under the two schemes lacked legislative backing. The petitioner was unable to answer the query.
Justice Singh further observed that government expenditure was subject to accounting and audit by the CAG and that CAG reports are placed before the Legislature.
Advocate General A Sudershan Reddy, appearing for the state, argued that the two schemes have been in operation since 2014 and that the petitioner was neither a beneficiary nor personally affected by them.
He contended that the writ petition was therefore not maintainable in the absence of any pleaded injury or demonstrated illegality.
The A-G also submitted that the schemes were intended to support economically vulnerable families, facilitate marriages of women who have attained the age of 18 years and help curb child marriages and exploitation. He relied on a Supreme Court judgment referring to welfare schemes implemented by various states for unmarried girls.
Vijay Gopal, however, argued that the state had disbursed more than `17,000 crore under the schemes since 2014 without specific legislative backing. He alleged that restricting the benefits to women amounted to discrimination against men and violated Article 14 of the Constitution.
He further relied on Article 162, contending that executive power could not be exercised through the eight GOs without adequate legal authority.
The bench was hearing the writ appeal filed by senior officials of the BC Welfare, SC Development, Tribal Welfare, Minorities Welfare, Women and Child Welfare and the Finance departments, challenging the August 12 interim order.
Presence of two IAS officers sought on Sept 7
Hyderabad: Two senior IAS officers will have to appear before the Telangana High Court on September 7 after the court directed its Registry to issue bailable warrants against them in a contempt case. The officers are Sandeep Kumar Sultania, principal secretary, Finance department, and Vikas Raj, Principal Secretary, Roads and Buildings department. The court directed that they be produced before it on September 7.
The contempt proceedings in C.C. No. 2147 of 2025 arose from alleged non-compliance with an April 24, 2025, High Court order in a writ petition. The earlier order directed the authorities to deposit 50% of the decretal amount in an execution petition of 2023 arising from LAOP No. 37 of 2016 before the Principal District Judge, Gadwal. The amount was to be deposited within three months.
