New Delhi, Jul 17 (PTI) The Supreme Court Friday dismissed an appeal against the June 29 order of the Telangana High Court which had rejected the pleas challenging the state's decision to construct a new secretariat complex after demolishing the existing one in Hyderabad.

The state government had earlier indicated that the new secretariat would cost around Rs 400 crore and it had decided to equip it with state-of-the-art connectivity and other features.

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A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan refused to hear the petition observing that the high court had dealt with the matter on merits.

"The special leave petition is dismissed. Pending applications stand disposed of," said the bench, also comprising Justices S K Kaul and M R Shah, which heard the matter through video-conferencing.

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The bench was hearing an appeal which had challenged the June 29 verdict alleging that the high court had failed to appreciate that state is going through financial difficulties and there was no justification of demolishing the existing secretariat building.

The appeal had also sought an interim stay on the high court's order.

The petitioners before the high court had contended that state was reeling under severe financial crisis with huge debts and at this juncture it was not financially viable nor will it reflect the wisdom on the part of the government to involve in such high expenditure.

The petitioners had also argued before the high court that the secretariat had many buildings in the complex which were constructed in recent years.PTI ABA MNL SJK

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)