The Telangana High Court on Wednesday dismissed at the examination stage a PIL seeking a direction to enable the Enforcement Directorate to probe the alleged misappropriation of funds in the Narayanpet-Kodangal Lift Irrigation Scheme.
The HC registry objected to a plea filed by Bakka Judson, a former All India Congress committee member and social activist, alleging that the scheme initiated by the Congress-led government involved misuse of public money. The petitioner alleged in the plea that there was a quid pro quo arrangement linking Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, his cabinet colleague Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy and two companies – Megha Engineering and Raghava Constructions.
When the matter came up for hearing at the screening stage, a bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin sought to know the standing of the petitioner in the matter. The bench asked the petitioner’s counsel whether the petitioner was expelled from the party after being a member of the All India Congress Committee. The court noted that in connection with his earlier political ties, the possibility that the petitioner had false intentions behind the filing of the PIL cannot be ruled out.
“This is not the forum to raise this issue,” the bench observed. The petitioner alleged that the cost of the project was increased from ₹1,450.51 crore to ₹2,945.5 crore through a government order. Later, it was further revised to ₹ 4,350 crore with the genuine intention of favoring the two private companies.
The jury found that the petitioner failed to convince it of the alleged mutual understanding between the government and the two companies.
Published – 15 Oct 2025 20:32 IST
