The Madras High Court on Wednesday ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the alleged irregularities in transformer tenders issued during the tenure of former Electricity Minister V Senthil Balaji [Arapor Iyakkam Vs Director].
A Bench of Chief Justice SA Dharmadikari and Justice Arul Murugan ordered that the entire investigation be transferred to the CBI.
“The investigation pertaining to the complaints lodged by the petitioners are hereby transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation,” the Court said.
The Court directed the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to hand over all material and its report to the CBI within two weeks.
It further ordered that upon receipt of the records, the CBI shall conduct a de novo investigation and proceed in accordance with law.
The Court also directed the State government, the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) and DVAC to extend full cooperation to ensure an effective probe and to place all relevant documents before the investigating agency.
“The investigating agency shall take earnest steps to conclude the proceedings as expeditiously as possible,” the Court added.
Importantly, the Bench clarified that its observations are limited to the question of whether an independent investigation is warranted, and should not be construed as findings on the merits of the allegations or prejudice any party in future proceedings.
The order was passed on a public interest litigation petition filed by NGO Arappor Iyakkam.
The petition concerned ten tenders floated between 2021 and 2023 for the purchase of approximately 45,800 distribution transformers, with a total estimated value of ₹1,183 crore.
Arappor Iyakkam claimed that the tendering process was manipulated to favour select bidders, resulting in an alleged loss of around ₹397 crore to the State exchequer.
A key plank of the challenge was the allegation of identical price bidding across multiple tenders.
According to the petitioner, in at least seven tenders, between 25 and 37 bidders quoted the same prices, a pattern said to be indicative of cartelisation and in violation of the Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders Act.
Despite this, the contracts were not cancelled and were instead awarded, the plea stated
The petition also pointed to instances of inflated pricing, including the procurement of a 500 kVA transformer at around ₹12.49 lakh against an alleged base value of approximately ₹7.89 lakh.
On this basis, the NGO sought a court-monitored investigation, including the constitution of a Special Investigation Team and registration of a criminal case.
It contended that no FIR was acted upon despite complaints.