Kaleshwaram case: IAS officer gets temporary relief from Telangana HC

Hyderabad, Sep 25 (IANS) In a relief to senior IAS officer Smita Sabharwal, the Telangana High Court on Thursday directed the Telangana government not to take any action against her based on the report of the Justice PC Ghose Commission on alleged irregularities in the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project.

The High Court passed an interim order on her petition, seeking to quash the findings of the Commission.

Smita Sabharwal, who served as Special Secretary in the Chief Minister's Office during the BRS regime, is one of the officers against whom the Commission has made adverse remarks.

A division bench led by Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh, which passed an interim order on her petition, decided to hear the petition along with similar petitions pending before the court.

The High Court has already granted interim protection to former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, former Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao, and former Chief Secretary S.K. Joshi, restraining the government from taking any action against them based on the same Commission report.

Sabharwal contended that the Commission made "serious and adverse remarks" against her without following the mandatory safeguards under Sections 8-B and 8-C of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, which require prior notice and an opportunity to be heard.

The 2001-batch IAS officer also stated that she was not part of the decision-making process regarding the construction of the three barrages and had no role in granting approvals.

The Commission, in its report submitted to the State government on July 31, stated that Sabharwal had played a key role in the construction of the barrages. It cited her visits to construction sites, field inspections, and feedback to the then Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), and involvement in granting administrative permissions.

The Commission also recommend action against her for allegedly violating business rules by not placing crucial files before the Cabinet.

The report had recommended action against her for alleged irregularities in the sanctioning of works related to the Medigadda, Annaram, and Sundilla barrages, which were taken up under the previous Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) government.

However, Sabharwal termed the findings "arbitrary, prejudicial, and violative of natural justice" and urged the Court to strike down the report insofar as it concerned her.

In April, Sabharwal was transferred and posted as Member Secretary, Telangana Finance Commission. She was earlier serving as Special Chief Secretary, Youth Advancement, Tourism & Culture (YAT&C) and Director, Archaeology. The transfer came days after she reposted an AI-generated Ghibli image on social media regarding the cutting of trees on 400-acre land near Hyderabad Central University.

Sabharwal was summoned by the Cyberabad Police for sharing the post. She had questioned the "selective targeting" and asked if the same action was initiated against 2,000 individuals who reshared the same post.

--IANS

ms/svn