Telangana Lifts Act: High Court asks government how much more time it requires to enact safety law

Referring to the counter-affidavit filed by the Government Pleader for Energy, representing the Department of Electrical Inspectorate, the bench noted that a draft Telangana Lifts Act, 2015, was prepared to address the regulatory gap and submitted to the government.

The counter affidavit also stated that, while the draft was under consideration, the department reviewed technological advancements and Ease of Doing Business norms and, accordingly, prepared a revised Telangana Lifts Act, 2025, which was submitted to the government in a letter dated September 9, 2025, and was presently under active consideration.

When the bench asked the state counsels how much time the state would need to consider the draft Bill and enact a law, they said about six months. The bench then noted that the Telangana Assembly has been convening once every two or three months in recent years.

However, noting the submission that the revised Telangana Lifts Act, 2025, is under active consideration by the government, the bench then asked the Government Pleader for the Energy Department to submit an update on the revised Act and the stage at which it was pending.

Proposed lift or elevator safety guidelines

The court also noted the affidavit submitted by Barkat Ali Khan on January 19, along with a draft of proposed lift or elevator safety guidelines as per the court’s earlier directions. Khan undertook extensive research and consultations with various stakeholders, including lift manufacturers, lift maintenance companies, families of victims of recent lift accidents, lift associations, and insurance companies, to formulate 11-point interim safety guidelines.

The court then directed the department to consider whether the proposed guidelines submitted by Khan can be issued as an executive instruction for compliance until the revised Telangana Lifts Act, 2025, comes into force.

The petitioner pointed out that lift safety legislation already exists in at least 14 states, including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Haryana. However, no dedicated lift legislation had been enacted since Telangana’s formation in 2014.

The matter was then posted for further hearing after four weeks.