Kaleshwaram project: Telangana High Court grants interim relief to former CM KCR, BRS leader Harish Rao

The Telangana High Court this week ordered that no coercive action be taken for now against former Chief Minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Chief K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) and former Minister Harish Rao in connection with alleged irregularities in the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project [Sri Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao v State of Telangana and connected matter]..A Bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin passed the interim order on petitions filed by KCR and Harish Rao against the findings of the Justice PC Ghosh report on the Kaleshwaram project. The report, submitted on July 31, raised serious allegations of corruption against KCR and Harish Rao. More recently, the now Congress-led Telangana government gave consent for the matter to be investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).In view of these developments, the High Court on Tuesday granted KCR and Harish Rao interim protection from any coercive action until their petitions are heard next on October 7. .The Court passed the order despite a submission by Advocate General A Sudershan Reddy that no adverse action is being contemplated for now based on the judicial commission's July 31 report."However, the matter relating to the irregularities in construction and execution of Kaleshwaram Dam has been referred to the Central Bureau of Investigation on the basis of the reports submitted by the National Dam Safety Authority and other reports...Let these matters be listed on 07.10.2025 when the pleadings...In the meantime, no adverse action based upon the findings of the Commission’s report be taken against the petitioners till the next date of hearing," the Court's order stated..When the matter was first heard on August 21, the petitioners (KCR and Harish Rao) argued that the judicial commission of inquiry violated principles of natural justice before it arrived at findings against them. They added that the State has been conducting a media trial by presenting the report's findings in a press conference before a copy was sent to the petitioners. In the ensuing hearing on August 22, the Court directed that the report's summary be taken down from government websites, if any such upload of the summary had been done. The State had denied uploading such findings on its portals, while the petitioners argued otherwise. "When the government accepted the report and resolved to place it before the Assembly for discussion, the report should not have been placed in the public domain. In case the report has been uploaded on any official website of the government, it should be taken down," the Court said. The Court also took on record Advocate General Reddy's assurance that the Commission's report would be tabled in the State Legislative Assembly first, before any action is taken based on its findings. Since the report had not been tabled at the time, the Court observed that there was no need to grant any interim protection to the petitioners. The Court had then adjourned the matter for five weeks. However, as the report has since been placed before the Assembly, and the matter has now been referred to the CBI, the Court granted the petitioners interim relief. .Senior Advocates Aryama Sundaram and Dama Seshadri Naidu along with Advocates Jaggannagari Venkat Sai and Ponugoti Mohith Rao appeared for the petitioners.Advocate General A Sudershan Reddy and Senior Advocate S Niranjan Reddy represented the State of Telangana..[Read Order].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.