HC raps haphazard TS GOs, demands process

The Telangana High Court, which had taken a serious view of the manner in which some orders were drafted and released by the state government, asked on Thursday whether it has any procedure to vet the GOs before they are released.

The High Court was responding to the changes made by the government on GO208, sanctioning the release of `59.95 crore towards legal expenses to contest contempt cases filed against chief secretary Somesh Kumar.

On Wednesday, the court had asked the government how Somesh Kumar as the beneficiary of the fund allocation could himself sign the order. It had also asked the government to stop releasing this amount. The court had said there must be some logic in spending public money.

Advocate-general B.S. Prasad requested the HC to revise the stay order it issued on the government releasing the amount.

The AG said the averments of counsel and the petitioner of the PIL that challenged the GO were aimed at misleading the court by interpreting “unfounded statistics.” The amount was sanctioned to settle the execution petitions filed over land acquisitions. Prasad urged the court to hear the matter again on Thursday itself, urgently, and lift the ban.

Reacting to this, Chief Justice Hima Kohli asked whether there existed any procedure of vetting as regards Telangana government orders (GOs) before they were signed and released.

“What is the law department doing? Does it not examine the GOs,” the CJ asked and rejected the AG’s plea to hear the case immediately. However, the bench made it clear it would try and hear the plea on Monday.