The Telangana High Court on Monday expressed strong displeasure at the state, especially the municipal administration and urban development (MAUD) department and the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), for failing to file counter-affidavits five months after the court’s previous directions. The court warned the respondents that if the counter-affidavits were not filed in the next three weeks, they would be liable to pay costs.The division bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G M Mohiuddin was hearing a writ petition filed by Syed Saleem and Zakat Foundation of India. The writ petition challenges the GHMC delimitation process and questions the constitutional validity of Section 6 of the Telangana Municipalities Act, 2019, contending that the said provision is ultra vires (beyond the powers) of the Constitution.Also read | Plea challenges Telangana Municipal Act’s ‘voter-based’ delimitation, HC gives govt 3 weeks to respondInstead of using ‘population’ as the determinative criteria for delimitation of such wards, the petitioner contends that Section 6 of the Act of 2019 uses the expression ‘voters’, and this may give rise to greater variations in the constituencies of each ward.Advocate Barkat Ali Khan, arguing the case for petitioner’s counsel, Advocate Muzaffer Ullah Khan, on Monday, informed the court that despite a specific order of September 1, 2025, directing the respondents to file their counter-affidavit, no counter has been filed to date. He further submitted that the municipal elections conducted on the basis of the impugned ultra vires provision are contrary to the constitutional mandate.The bench then questioned the respondents about the delay and asked for an explanation for not complying with the earlier order.Khan contended that a representation was made to the GHMC commissioner on December 14, 2025, requesting ward-wise population details of 300 new wards of the unified GHMC (after the merger of 27 municipal bodies within the Outer Ring Road into the civic body) and the voters’ list. However, no reply was received, and the data was not provided. Therefore, an interlocutory application has been filed seeking directions to provide the newly prepared 300 ward-wise voters’ list and to grant 30 days’ time from the date of issuing the data to file objections.The application urged the court to direct the GHMC and the MAUD department to release the total population data of the newly constituted GHMC and to issue an appropriate notification inviting objections and suggestions within 30 days. The petitioner’s application also urged the court to direct the respondents not to issue any election notification for GHMC pending disposal of this writ petition.Story continues below this adAfter hearing both sides and considering the request made by the respondents, the court granted three weeks to the respondents to file their counter-affidavits. The court directed that if the counter-affidavits are not filed, the respondents will have to pay a cost of Rs 5,000 to the Telangana Legal Services Authority. The petitioner was also granted one week thereafter to file a reply, if any.The matter has been posted after four weeks for further hearing.Rahul V Pisharody is Assistant Editor with the Indian Express Online and has been reporting for IE on various news developments from Telangana since 2019. He is currently reporting on legal matters from the Telangana High Court. Rahul started his career as a journalist in 2011 with The New Indian Express and worked in different roles at the Hyderabad bureau for over 8 years. As Deputy Metro Editor, he was in charge of the Hyderabad bureau of the newspaper and coordinated with the team of city reporters, district correspondents, other centres and internet desk for over three years. A native of Palakkad in Kerala, Rahul has a Master's degree in Communication (Print and New Media) from the University of Hyderabad and a Bachelor's degree in Business Management from PSG College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore. ... Read MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:telangana