The Telangana High Court has extended interim protection to K Chandrasekhar Rao and T Harish Rao in connection with the Kaleshwaram project case. The Court restrained the Telangana government from taking any adverse action based on the judicial commission’s report till February 25.
Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Monday extended its interim protection till February 25 in favour of BRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, former minister T Harish Rao, and several senior officials, restraining the state government from taking any adverse action against them based on the findings of the judicial commission that investigated alleged irregularities in the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G M Mohiuddin adjourned the batch of writ petitions to February 25, while continuing the interim relief already granted earlier. The adjournment was made to allow the parties to complete the filing of written submissions.
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The order was passed when the petitions filed by K Chandrasekhar Rao, T Harish Rao, former Chief Secretary Shailendra Kumar Joshi, and senior IAS officer Smita Sabharwal came up for hearing before the High Court on Monday.
Earlier, on November 12 last year, the High Court had extended interim protection to KCR and others and adjourned the matter to January 19, granting four weeks’ time to the state government to file its counter affidavits. The Court had also allowed three weeks thereafter to the petitioners to file their reply affidavits.
The judicial commission in question was headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice P C Ghose, and was constituted to probe alleged irregularities in the construction of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project during the BRS government’s tenure. The commission had earlier submitted its report to the Telangana government.
The report was tabled in the State Assembly in August last year. After an eight-hour discussion, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy announced the government’s decision to hand over the investigation to the CBI.
In its findings, the commission held K Chandrasekhar Rao accountable for alleged irregularities in the construction of the project and other related aspects.
It also found fault with Harish Rao, who is KCR’s nephew and served as the irrigation minister during the BRS regime, along with the role of certain officials in the construction of barrages and other components of the project.
Challenging the commission’s findings, KCR, Harish Rao, and others approached the High Court seeking to quash the report.
In his petition, KCR sought a declaration that the appointment of the Commission of Inquiry was “illegal unconstitutional and ulltra vires”, and prayed for quashing the report issued by the commission on July 31, 2025, by declaring it “malafide” and in violation of the principles of natural justice.
Contending that a copy of the commission’s report was furnished to him, KCR further urged the High Court to declare the state government’s action of making repeated publications of the report as illegal, biased, and premeditated, and as being in violation of the principles of natural justice.
Earlier, the High Court had granted interim relief to KCR, Harish Rao, and others, restraining the Telangana government from acting against them until the final adjudication of the matter.
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