Bombay High Court stays CBI probe against Tata Consulting Engineers over ₹800 crore Mumbai Port scam

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday stayed an investigation against Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE) in a case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the alleged ₹800 crore scam in the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority's (JNPA) capital dredging project.

A Bench of Justice AS Gadkari and Justice Rajesh Patil stayed the investigation after noting serious lapses in the search and seizure memo.

The case pertained to a 2003 project meant to expand the navigational channel shared between JNPA and Mumbai Port to accommodate larger cargo vessels.

The final project planning report for Phase I of the project was submitted in 2010 by TCE, which was appointed project management consultant. TCE’s responsibilities included the preparation of the tender documents and supervision of project execution.

However, a first information report (FIR) lodged by the CBI alleged that key officials at JNPA and TCE were involved in a criminal conspiracy that led to significant financial losses during both phases of the project.

According to the CBI, overpayments of ₹365.90 crore in Phase I and ₹438 crore in Phase II were made on the basis of manipulated project data, including false over-dredging claims and tampered survey records.

Raids conducted at multiple premises in Mumbai and Chennai recovered technical documents, digital evidence and records of questionable investments allegedly linked to public officials involved in the project.

The FIR lodged on June 18 named TCE along with its director Devdutt Bose, former JNPA chief manager Sunil Kumar Madabhavi, Boskalis Smit India LLP, Jan De Nul Dredging India Pvt Ltd, and other public officials. They have been booked under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and multiple provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PC Act).

TCE filed a petition before the High Court to quash this FIR, in which it denied any wrongdoing.

It sought its removal from the CBI’s FIR, contending that its role was restricted to consultancy and that it had no involvement in financial or contractual malpractices. The company has maintained that there is no material evidence to support the charges against it.

Senior Advocate Amit Desai appeared for TCE today and sought urgent relief.

The Court was initially inclined to keep the matter for hearing after two weeks. However, it stayed the order after taking note of a glaring illegality.

The Court observed that the memo that documented the articles seized during the CBI's search and seizure also disclosed the password to access the laptop of Devdut Bose, the then project manager of the TCE, in violation of the Information Technology Act.

"You cannot do it.. How can you publish the password of someone? This is contrary to the basis of the IT Act.. How can you do it? You have caused damage to someone ... You (CBI) can't publish someone else's password in public no ... N number of advocates have seen it ... you have seen it. See Sections 3,4 of the IT Act. This is a very sensitive matter ... This involves tampering. This in itself is mandatory grounds for discharge," said Justice Gadkari.

The Court also suggested that the password could have been published with malafide intention in order to aid the competitors.

The Court will next hear TCE's petition seeking quashing of the FIR after two weeks.

Meanwhile, the CBI counsel has been asked to take instructions on the particulars of the FIR, including on whose information it was filed and the allegation that even the Attorney General for India and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust's Board of Trustees had examined the issue and found no criminality in it.

Nitesh Jain, partner at Trilegal law firm, briefed Senior Advocate Amit Desai.