SC upholds Madras HC order for CBI probe into RS 397 Cr scam

The Supreme Court refused to interfere with the Madras High Court order directing a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into an alleged Rs 397-crore transformer procurement scam involving former Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji, asking that the investigation proceed independently without influence

New Delhi: In a setback to former Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji, the Supreme Court on Monday refused to interfere with a Madras High Court order directing a CBI probe into an alleged Rs 397-crore scam in the procurement of transformers during his tenure as the state’s electricity minister between 2021 and 2023. A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta refused to entertain the plea challenging the high court’s direction for a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities.

Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for an official of the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO), said there was no specific prayer before the high court seeking a CBI investigation and contended that the proceedings were politically motivated.

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“There was no prayer for a CBI enquiry before the high court. It’s a politically motivated case,” Dave submitted. Justice Nath said the court was empowered to direct such a probe if the circumstances warranted.
“We don’t need a prayer. It depends upon how the court feels,” the Bench observed.

Declining to entertain the special leave petition against the high court order, the court ordered that it was not inclined to entertain the appeal and said investigation in the matter should proceed independently without being influenced by any observations made by the high court.

On April 29, the high court ordered a CBI inquiry into the alleged irregularities surrounding the procurement of 45,000 distribution transformers by the Tamil Nadu government. Following the high court order, Balaji had maintained that all procedures were duly followed in the tender process and that no irregularities were committed in the procurement of transformers.

The DMK leader also said the procedures of procurement had been in place since 1987 and that the “same procedures were followed till now”. The high court order came on allegations that the state exchequer suffered a loss of Rs 397 crore between 2021 and 2023.

The court passed the order on a petition filed by NGO Arappor Iyakkam seeking an inquiry by a Special Investigation Team, while AIADMK legal wing functionaries E Saravanan and Rajkumar sought a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities. The petitioners alleged that irregularities amounting to Rs 397 crore took place in the procurement of 45,000 transformers during Balaji’s tenure as electricity minister in the then DMK government.

The high court directed that all related complaints be transferred to the CBI for a detailed investigation.
Ordering the CBI to conduct a fresh investigation into this matter, the high court directed the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to hand over all documents related to the case to the central agency within two weeks.

It had further directed the CBI, upon receiving the documents, to conduct and conclude the investigation expeditiously and to take appropriate action in accordance with the law. The high court also ordered TANGEDCO, the DVAC, and the Tamil Nadu government to extend their full cooperation to the CBI during the investigation.