Hyderabad: Kalyana Lakshmi schemes received a green signal from the High Court on Tuesday. The bench lifted the stay imposed by a single judge on implementing Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak.
The court also stayed further proceedings on the petition pending before the single judge. The division bench said stopping implementation of the welfare schemes was not appropriate at this stage.
The bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin heard the matter on Tuesday. The case followed a petition filed by advocate Vijay Gopal challenging 8 government orders issued since 2014.
A single judge had earlier stayed implementation after the government failed to file a counter in the petition. The petition questioned the legal basis for continuing the Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak schemes.
During the hearing, Advocate General A Sudarshan Reddy explained the purpose of the welfare programmes. He said the government introduced them to provide financial assistance to unmarried women from SC, ST and minority communities during marriage.
Later, the government extended the schemes to women belonging to BC and EBC communities. The Advocate General also said the programmes followed Supreme Court guidelines aimed at preventing child marriages.
Reddy argued that the petition was not maintainable and that the petitioner lacked eligibility to challenge the schemes. He also warned that stopping programmes operating for the last two years could affect thousands of beneficiaries.
The Advocate General further pointed out that several states, including Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, implement similar welfare programmes under different names. He argued that the petitioner was challenging schemes operating since 2014 despite having no direct impact on him.
Meanwhile, petitioner Vijay Gopal defended his right to approach the court as a citizen. He argued that restricting the benefits of the schemes to women amounted to discrimination.
Kalyana Lakshmi schemes face questions over legal authority
Gopal clarified that he was not challenging the constitutional validity of the schemes themselves. Instead, he questioned their legal basis and argued that the executive could not implement them solely through government executive orders.
He also referred to the large amount of public money distributed through the programmes. According to his argument, thousands of crores had already been spent under the schemes.
The petitioner urged the court to prevent further implementation until their legal status was clarified. He argued that recovering money already distributed would not be possible if the schemes continued.
At this stage, the bench raised questions about expenditure sanctioned for the programmes. The judges also asked whether the Comptroller and Auditor General had submitted any report concerning the expenditure.
The bench observed that governments had spent funds under the schemes for around 12 years without legislative and constitutional permission, according to the arguments placed before it. It said the government would have to answer questions about such expenditure before the Assembly or other appropriate forums.
The bench suggested that any objections raised by the CAG should be placed before the court. It subsequently stayed proceedings on the petition before the single judge.
At the same time, the division bench lifted the interim stay that had halted implementation. It said stopping the welfare schemes at this stage was not appropriate.
The court adjourned the next hearing to November. Until further orders, the High Court’s interim decision allows the Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak schemes to continue.