The Telangana High Court has given Hyderabad’s water utility two weeks to convert a petitioner’s water connection from commercial to domestic, warning officials of contempt proceedings and stringent punishment if they fail to comply with an earlier order.
Justice Laxminarayana Alishetty issued the warning while hearing a contempt petition filed by Jeetendra Agarwal of Vanasthalipuram. The court expressed displeasure that its earlier direction had remained unimplemented for nearly a year and questioned whether officials had failed to understand the order or were deliberately avoiding compliance.
M Mahender Naik, general manager, and S Kiran Kumar, chief general manager (revenue), of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board appeared before the court in response to its earlier directions. The court made clear that judicial orders could not be treated lightly and said continued non-compliance could lead to stringent consequences.
The dispute relates to an order passed in November 2025, directing HMWSSB to change Agarwal’s connection from the commercial category to the domestic category within two months. The petitioner’s counsel, Panuganti Vijay Kumar, told the court that the water board had not implemented the direction even after the stipulated period expired and sought contempt action against the officials.
The earlier order had also clarified that if the petitioner’s subsequent water usage fell within the commercial category, HMWSSB could take action under the applicable rules. However, the board would first have to issue notice and provide the consumer an opportunity of hearing.
During the contempt proceedings, HMWSSB’s counsel said that a notice had been issued to Agarwal seeking his objections. The court rejected this as an adequate response, observing that the board’s first obligation was to complete the conversion within the time directed. Only after that step could it examine whether the actual water usage justified a commercial classification.
The board also argued that its rules treated premises exceeding 50 square metres as commercial and that the tariff policy was determined by the Telangana government. On that basis, it submitted that HMWSSB did not have the authority to alter the classification. The court noted that these issues had already been considered while passing the earlier order.
Standing counsel I Vinesh Kumar sought two weeks to implement the direction and tendered an apology on behalf of the officials. The court granted the request and adjourned the matter to November 28, when HMWSSB’s compliance is expected to come under review.
