In a significant development, the Telangana High Court on Tuesday, September 16, issued an interim directive, instructing the state government to refrain from taking any adverse action against retired IAS officer S.K. Joshi until October 7. This order stems from the findings of the Justice P.C. Ghose Commission’s report, which the former official has challenged.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin delivered this interim order after hearing a writ petition filed by Joshi, who sought the suspension of the controversial Commission report. The petitioner had previously served as the Principal Secretary of Irrigation and Command Area Development during the tenure of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government, a period during which the massive Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project was executed.
Notably, the same bench had earlier issued similar directives, preventing coercive action against former Chief Minister and BRS leader K. Chandrashekhar Rao, along with T. Harish Rao, who held portfolios as Irrigation and Finance Minister in the previous cabinet. These orders were also in response to separate pleas filed by the two prominent political figures.
The core of the former IAS officer’s contention is that the Commission failed to serve him the mandatory notices under Sections 8A and 8B of the Commissions of Inquiries Act-1952. His legal counsel argued that the Commission wrongly implicated Joshi, alleging an “improper role” in granting approvals and his participation in critical financial and technical decisions, all supposedly in violation of established business rules.
Responding to these arguments, Advocate General A. Sudarshan Reddy informed the bench that the state government has already approached the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the alleged misappropriation of crores of rupees involved in the construction of barrages for the Kaleshwaram project. The AG assured the court that the CBI investigation would cover all angles, drawing upon reports from the National Dam Safety Authority and other relevant Central agencies. He further affirmed that no adverse measures would be taken against Joshi based solely on the Commission’s report for the time being.