Hyderabad, June 5, 2025 

The Telangana High Court has quashed a 2022 interim gag order that had restrained media outlets from reporting on the alleged involvement of Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL) in funding the wedding of a senior IAS officer’s daughter.

A Division Bench of Justice T. Vinod Kumar and Justice P. Sree Sudha held that the ex parte order issued without hearing the affected news organisations violated the constitutional right to free speech and lacked justification for such prior restraint.

The order had barred The News Minute, Tolivelugu, and V6 Velugu from publishing content related to MEIL’s alleged financial assistance for the wedding of Rajat Kumar’s daughter, then Telangana’s Special Chief Secretary for Irrigation.

The High Court observed that reporting on matters involving public officials and corporate entities falls under legitimate public interest, and any claims of defamation must be resolved through a fair trial, not censorship.

With the gag lifted, the case now returns to the lower court for further proceedings.

Case Title: The News Minute & Ors v. Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Ltd.
Court: Telangana High Court, Division Bench
Citation: 2025 SCC OnLine TS HC 317