Hyderabad The Telangana High Court dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on Monday that sought action against Smita Sabharwal, Member Secretary of the Telangana State Finance Commission, over comments she made on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). The PIL, filed by social activist Vasundhara Koppula, accused Sabharwal of making insensitive and offensive remarks about the differently-abled community.
The bench, consisting of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J. Sreenivas Rao, ruled that the PIL lacked merit and did not serve the public interest. The court’s decision was based on the determination that Sabharwal’s comments fell within her rights to free expression as a citizen.
The PIL alleged that on July 21, Sabharwal posted comments on X questioning the capabilities of differently-abled individuals in high-stakes professions such as pilots, surgeons, and IAS officers. Koppula argued that these remarks were derogatory and violated the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, which are designed to uphold the dignity and integrity of public servants. Sabharwal had expressed her view that differently-abled persons should not be given certain critical roles and opposed reservations or quotas for such individuals.
Despite these allegations, the bench found that the PIL did not raise a substantive public interest issue. The court concluded that the controversy surrounding Sabharwal’s comments did not violate any specific legal provisions that would justify judicial intervention, leading to the dismissal of the case.