Officials also pointed out that the government has so far failed to adhere to multiple deadlines set by it in regard to the construction of both the permanent building for the high court and quarters for the judges.
Published Oct 03, 2025 | 2:15 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 03, 2025 | 2:40 PM
The Andhra Pradesh High Court. (Wikimedia Commons)
Synopsis: The Andhra Pradesh High Court took a serious view of the state treasury department raising unusual queries regarding bills submitted by it for payment. Officials also pointed out that the government has so far failed to adhere to multiple deadlines set by it in regard to the construction of both the permanent building for the high court and quarters for the judges.
The Andhra Pradesh High Court took a serious view of the state treasury department raising unusual queries in regard to bills submitted by it for payment. Highly placed sources in the high court told South First that such a step by the treasury is unusual in the history of either the erstwhile undivided Andhra Pradesh or the bifurcated state.
It is to be noted that if the high court takes a serious view of the matter, it even has the power to impose a financial emergency.
The bills in question pertain to purchases made by the high court for IT infrastructure at district courts. Instead of clearing the bills forwarded by the high court administration, the district treasury concerned returned them with “queries.”
Senior judges who reviewed the matter pointed out that any bill sent by the high court is expected to be cleared automatically. “Returning a bill has never happened in the past. It appears that they are raising queries with a view to delaying the payment owing to a financial crunch,” one of them said.
Senior judges, along with administrative heads of the high court, are expected to take up the matter with the Chief Justice after the Dasara vacation to decide on the course of action.
It is well-known that Andhra Pradesh is facing a tight fiscal situation. In just the first five months of this year, the state has already borrowed over 60 percent of its annual debt plan, raising questions about fiscal health. Even hundreds of pending bills from the previous regime remain unpaid.
So far, the high court has avoided any serious clash with the executive. To sort out issues relating to the high court, it convenes review meetings with either the Chief Secretary or the Principal Secretaries of the department concerned. Even though there is no fixed schedule for such review meetings, the high court convened meetings whenever it felt the need.
It remains to be seen whether the court prefers to hold such a review meeting to discuss the clearance of bills or takes a more serious view.
Officials pointed out that the government has so far failed to adhere to multiple deadlines set by it in regard to the construction of both the permanent building for the high court and quarters for the judges. The construction remains incomplete even now, despite having been started many years ago.
The high court, according to sources, has also not taken kindly to the proposals submitted by the state’s Roads & Buildings (R&B) department for the construction of judges’ quarters at the district level.
In the case of one district, the R&B department submitted a quote of over ₹6,500 per square feet, when the actual cost, by any standard, should not exceed ₹3,000 per square feet.
“This clearly smacks of collusion between the government department and the contractor lobby. There is no question of accepting the proposal, and it shall be reviewed,” an official said.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
