Hyderabad: In a setback to the state government, the Telangana High Court on Wednesday sought to know under what legislation was the demolition of the heritage structures of Erram Manzil approved.

Earlier this month, the court had ruled against the demolition of the existing secretariat complex and the iconic Erram Manzil and asked the state government to file a counter in 15 days.

The court was hearing arguments of the petitioner on behalf of the Nizam's heirs and the government on the contentious issue of the structure. Everyone should abide by law and the government is no exception to this, stated the court.

The petitioner has argued that Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao's proposal to demolish the heritage structure is against the law and is a waste of public money. The plea has asked the court to direct the state government to avoid taking a hasty decision in this regard.