The Telangana High Court has given officials four weeks to report compliance with earlier orders on regularising employees working in educational institutions in the erstwhile Warangal district, warning that they may have to appear personally if the deadline is missed.
Justice T Madhavi Devi issued the direction while hearing a contempt case filed in 2021 over the non-implementation of orders passed in 2019. The court expressed displeasure that officials had repeatedly sought more time without completing the process and adjourned the matter to November 27.
The officials appearing before the court included Tribal Welfare Commissioner and Director Santosh and Finance Department Special Secretary Sikta Patnaik. They sought another six weeks to implement the orders, but the court rejected the request and fixed four weeks as the final deadline for submitting a report on the steps taken.
The case concerns employees working in different educational institutions in the erstwhile Warangal district. The court also noted that the officials had approached the Supreme Court but had not obtained relief, raising questions about why the High Court’s orders had still not been implemented after several years.
The proceedings highlighted a dispute over the movement of files between the Tribal Welfare and Finance departments. The Tribal Welfare department told the court that it had sent a letter to the Finance Department on October 23. However, the Finance Department officer said the relevant file had not yet reached her department.
The court was not satisfied with the explanation that inter-departmental file movement had caused the delay. It pointed out that the original orders were issued in 2019 and that the contempt petition had been filed in 2021, making the prolonged lack of implementation a matter of concern in the proceedings.
The court also referred to a contempt notice issued on September 21, 2026, and directed the officials to explain what action had been taken after they received it. The order places responsibility on the departments to provide a consolidated account of compliance rather than seek another general extension.
If the report is not submitted within the four-week period, the officials concerned will be required to appear personally before the court at the next hearing on November 27. The proceedings will determine whether the departments have taken concrete steps towards implementing the earlier regularisation orders.
