HC Not Inclined on Harish Plea

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Thursday was not inclined to entertain a writ petition filed by former minister and Siddipet MLA T. Harish Rao, complaining that the crop loan waiver scheme of the state government had not been extended to all eligible farmers in his constituency. Justice Surepalli Nanda clarified that relief of a broad and general nature, particularly involving issues affecting a large section of the public, could not be sought through an individual writ petition.The court advised that such grievances must be pursued through a public lnterest litigation (PIL). Harish Rao, in his petition, contended that farmers across the mandals of Siddipet Urban, Siddipet Rural, Chinna Kodur, Nangunuru, and Narvanaraopet were denied the benefit, as the waiver amounts were not credited to their bank accounts. He sought directions from the court to ensure that the pending loan waiver amounts be released to farmers within a specified timeframe.Government counsel objected to the maintainability of the petition, stating that relief intended for a large group, such as all farmers in a constituency, cannot be sought in an individual capacity through a writ petition.Counsel for Harish Rao sought permission to convert the petition into a PIL. The court suggested filing a PIL separately. Following that the petitioner’s counsel sought permission to withdraw the petition, which was allowed. The court accordingly disposed of the case, granting liberty to the petitioner to pursue appropriate legal remedies.HC Seeks Report on Owaisi CollegeTaking serious note of the inaction of public authorities over the alleged large scale illegal constructions by the Barrister Fatima Owaisi Educational Campus KG– PG, and the Salar-e-Millat Educational Trust in the lake bed area including the full tank level and buffer zone of Salkam Cheruvu at Badangpet, the Telangana High Court has directed principal secretary, revenue, the civic body and the irrigation and school education departments to conduct a detailed enquiry to identify officers who did not take action during the course of construction of the college from 2015. The court directed the authorities to furnish a detailed report to the court by July 3, after completion of the inquiry and the action taken.Justice N.V. Shravan Kumar further directed the school education authorities to take immediate steps to shift students from the Institutions to any government school or college to pursue free education, if they received applications to that extent from the coming academic year. The judge said that these steps were being directed in order to ensure that the academic career of the students studying in the institutions would not be disturbed.Justice Sharavan Kumar was dealing with a petition filed by advocate Vijay Gopal highlighting the inaction of HYDRAA and government agencies against the illegal constructions in the Salkam Cheruvu and not initiating action based on the complaints submitted by him on encroachments by the institutions in the lake area.On April 13, the High Court had made it clear the academic year starting from 2026 would be affected by further orders in the petition. The court, in its earlier order, also informed the parents and students pursuing their study in the alleged illegal constructions that their decision was subject to the outcome of the writ petition. Following that the High Court on Thursday issued these directions to the school education authorities.Justice Shravan Kumar also on April 13 had directed the municipal administration and GHMC authorities to take appropriate steps in coordination with revenue and irrigation department officials to survey the Salkam Cheruvu, identify and fix the FTL and buffer zone and thereafter prepare a detailed report listing unauthorised constructions in the area. The court also directed them to issue final notification of FTL and buffer zone within of two weeks.On Thursday, the HMDA submitted that once the inspection was complete, the report would be submitted to HYDRAA, which heads the lake protection committee. As per the instructions of the HYDRAA, the final notification would be notified in the HMDA official website. Counsel sought two months to complete the exercise.The judge observed that it was “unfortunate” and “shameful” that none of the government agencies or authorities could confirm whether valid construction permissions had been granted to the educational institutions operating within the disputed area.The court questioned the HYDRAA, GHMC and revenue departments whether or not they were aware of the illegal constructions in the water body, whereas HYDRAA with the help of other departments are unilaterally demolishing buildings without giving any time or notices to the dwellers in other areas. “Why the discrimination…. It is a clear example of how you (authorities) perform duties and your favoritism to the particular institution. You are following the ‘naked eye’ law,” the court commented.HC stays DBT Fee Collection BanThe Telangana High Court on Thursday temporarily suspended a key clause in GO order 7 dated April 29, issued by the Scheduled Castes development department, that barred colleges from collecting tuition fees directly from students under the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system.Justice Juvvadi Sridevi passed the interim order while hearing writ petitions filed by private educational institutions challenging the GO, which shifted the Post Matric Scholarships, including reimbursement of tuition fee and maintenance fee, to the DBT mode from the academic year 2026-27. Clause-XII of the order mandated that institutions shall not insist on payment of tuition and other eligible fees at the time of admission. Instead, students were required to pay fees after receiving scholarship amounts directly into their Aadhaar-linked bank accounts under the DBT mechanism.The court took note of an earlier order in a batch of writ petitions recognising substantial dues payable to the petitioner institutions and the resulting financial hardship. As an interim measure in that batch of petitions, institutions were earlier permitted to collect tuition fees directly from students belonging to the SC, ST, EBC, BC, minorities and other categories from the academic year 2026-27 onwards, subject to the outcome of the petitions.Senior counsel L. Ravichander submitted that the impugned order contained no timeline for crediting amounts into student accounts, despite acknowledged dues running into several crores to each institution. It was argued that the mechanism provided no certainty as to when funds would reach students and then to the institutions.Senior Counsel Avinash Desai contended that the restriction operated as a serious impediment to fee collection, particularly when beneficiaries under the scheme constituted a substantial portion of student strength. It was further argued that the clause effectively undermined the earlier interim order without safeguarding institutional viability. Recording the submissions, the court suspended Clause-XII till Monday and posted the matter to May 4.Verdict Reserved on Sops to Protect CSWSThe Telangana High Court on Thursday directed that the media accreditation cards issued earlier by the state government shall remain valid until June 16, pending the adjudication of writ petitions challenging the new accreditation rules.A division bench comprising Justice P. Sam Koshy and Justice Narsing Rao Nandikonda issued the interim order while hearing petitions filed by Hitech Print and Electronic Media Association and others. The petitions contested the validity of GO Ms. No. 252 dated December 22, 2025, issued under the Telangana Media Accreditation Rule 2025, as amended by GO Rt. No. 103 dated January 24, 2026.Counsel for the petitioners argued that the impugned GOs prescribe arbitrary eligibility criteria for accreditation, including conditions relating to circulation, gross income, broadcasting duration, and digital metrics such as unique visitors. It was contended that these stipulations were illegal, arbitrary, and violative of principles of natural justice. The petitioners submitted that the rules were inconsistent. Special government counsel informed the bench that the government had already decided to extend the validity of the cards until May 31.



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