Hyderabad: Telangana high court Tuesday granted interim protection to former chief minister and BRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao and former minister T Harish Rao from “any adverse action” based on the Justice P C Ghose Commission of Inquiry report, until further orders.A division bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G M Mohiuddin also clarified that CBI would conduct an investigation into the matter independently on the basis of other material, including reports from other central agencies like the National Dam Safety Authority, and not the commission’s findings.The commission probed the alleged irregularities in the construction of Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project, and its report was tabled in the assembly recently, following which CM Revanth Reddy announced the state govt’s decision to hand over the investigation to CBI.KCR and Harish Rao on Monday approached the high court, where they expressed apprehension over the “adverse findings of the commission” being used against them or forming the basis of a CBI probe, and urged the bench for a clear and specific direction to govt.The petitioners challenged the commission’s report on the grounds that it did not follow the procedure as mandated by the Commission of Inquiries Act, and also did not give them an opportunity to pursue their case.Appearing for the state, advocate general A Sudarshan Reddy said no “action taken report” based on the commission’s findings had yet been placed before the assembly. “The commission’s report is not being forwarded to the CBI as the basis of investigation,” the AG added.After recording the submissions from both parties, the bench gave the state two weeks’ time to file its reply to the pending interlocutory applications — which restrains the govt from taking any action on the report until final orders — and also file counter-affidavits in the main petition, which seeks suspension of the commission’s report. The HC then posted the matter to Oct 7 for further hearing.
