Ghose Panel Report: HC relief to KCR, Harish
High Court asks govt not to act against them based on panel findings
Hyderabad: In a significant development, the Telangana High Court on Tuesday provided interim relief to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) president Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao and senior party leader T Harish Rao regarding the findings of the PC Ghose Commission which investigated into the damage to three key barrages of the multi-crore Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS).
The commission, headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice P C Ghose, submitted its report to the government on July 31, holding Chandrashekar Rao accountable for alleged irregularities in the project's construction and other aspects. In its report, the commission also found fault with Harish Rao, a nephew of KCR and the irrigation minister during the BRS regime.
Challenging the report, KCR and Harish Rao approached the court seeking to quash it and subsequently filed interim applications. After hearing the interim pleas, the court asked the government not to take any action against the two leaders based on the commission’s report until the next hearing and posted the case for October 7. However, the division bench headed by Chief Justice AK Singh said that the CBI can conduct an independent probe into the Kaleshwaram project, but the investigation must not be based on the findings of the Ghose Commission.
During the hearing, Telangana Advocate General A Sudarshan Reddy informed the court that at present, no action taken report, based on the findings of the commission’s report, was placed before the Assembly. However, the government was bound to table the action taken report in the Assembly, he further said.
