Telangana HC to hear state appeal on wedding aid scheme stay
Telangana High Court will hear the state's appeal against a stay on Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak schemes, which provide financial aid to brides from specific communities.
The Telangana High Court is set to hear on Tuesday the state government's appeal against a single judge's interim order that stayed the implementation of the Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak schemes. The appeal comes after the schemes, which provide financial assistance to women from marginalised communities for their weddings, were put on hold.
On Monday, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin cleared the way for the appeal to be heard by overruling objections raised by the High Court Registry. The bench directed the registry to allot a number to the appeal petition for the upcoming hearing.
The stay was originally imposed on August 12 by a single judge, who was hearing a writ petition filed by advocate Vijay Gopal challenging the constitutional validity of the two schemes. The interim order halted the operation of eight Government Orders (GOs) through which financial support was extended to unmarried women from scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, backward classes, minorities, and physically challenged groups.
However, the stay was later lifted with respect to one of the GOs — GO Ms. No. 4 — following an implead petition filed by MIM MLAs.
During Monday's proceedings, Advocate General A. Sudarshan Reddy argued that the implementation of the schemes would not affect the petitioner in any manner. He also contended that the plea lacked public interest, noting that the schemes have been in operation in the state since 2014.