Telangana High Court Provides Relief to KCR and Harish Rao by Suspending Notices
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Hyderabad, Dec 24 (NationPress) In a significant reprieve for former Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and former Minister T. Harish Rao, the High Court on Tuesday suspended the notices that were issued by a lower court concerning the damages incurred at the Medigadda barrage, which is part of the Kaleshwaram Project.
The High Court delivered this ruling on a quash petition submitted by leaders of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). The court has also issued notices to Nagavelli Rajalingamurthy, who had filed a revision petition that prompted the lower court to take action.
Back in August, the Principal Sessions Court in Bhupalpally had issued notices to the BRS president and former CM Chandrasekhar Rao, ex-minister Harish Rao, along with six others.
The lower court's notices were in response to a petition from Nagavelli Rajalingamurthy, a local resident of Bhupalpally. He argued that Chandrasekhar Rao, Harish Rao, and others acted with undue haste in advancing the project without adequate testing, resulting in the misappropriation of substantial public funds. Rajalingamurthy pointed to the sinking of the piers at Medigadda in October 2023 and noted the involvement of officials from the National Dam Safety Authority and various political figures, claiming that the respondents misused public money.
The petitioner contended that these actions amounted to violations under Sections 120-B, 420, 386, 406, and 409 of the Indian Penal Code.
The Principal Sessions Court began hearings after a lower court declined to address the case, stating that only special judges could handle matters under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and the IPC. Following this, Rajalingamurthy submitted a petition in the sessions court seeking to revise the order of the First Class Principal Judicial Magistrate of Bhupalpally.
The Sessions Court had previously issued notices to KCR, Harish Rao, the then special chief secretary for irrigation, along with retired IAS officer Rajat Kumar, Principal Secretary Smitha Sabharwal, Chief Engineers B. Hariram and N. Sridhar, as well as representatives from two contracting agencies.
In response to the notices, KCR and Harish Rao filed a petition in the High Court, requesting that the lower court's judgment be overturned. Their lawyer argued that the Sessions Court lacked the authority to hear the case, citing previous rulings from various high courts and the Supreme Court.
After considering arguments from both parties, the High Court suspended the notices and instructed that notice be served to petitioner Rajalingamurthy, with the hearing rescheduled for January 7.
