HC imposes costs on school department for delay in filing appeal

The Telangana High Court allowed the appeal against the single judge’s order in favor of the deceased and imposed a cost of ₹25,000 on the school education department for moving the appeal with a delay of 250 days.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice P Sam Koshy and Justice Narsinga Rao Nandikonda, which said it was “reluctantly” to allow the appeal, ordered costs to be deposited with the State Legal Services Authority within two weeks. The court ordered the Principal Secretary, Education, to find out which departmental official was responsible for the delay in filing the appeal, which resulted in the imposition of costs.

“If necessary, costs will be recovered from the erring official,” the court said in its order. Fifty-two-year-old K. Girish had filed a writ petition in 2016 for a direction to absorb him as a subsidized teacher as per the proposal sent by the Vivek Vardhini Education Society. The proposal was sent in 2003. Two years later, the Department of School Education issued a proposal rejecting the proposal.

While the suit was pending decision, the petitioner died. On September 23 last year, a single judge pronounced a verdict directing the Hyderabad district education director to initiate absorption proceedings against the deceased against the grant vacancies and extend all subsequent absorption benefits.

The panel stated that “we are of the prima facie considered opinion that a good case was made for the relief” as the petitioner died even before the single judge issued the final order. The tribunal suspended the activity of the self-judicial system.

Published – 10 Oct 2026 0:10 AM IST