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 Court that the manner in which the probe was handled raised serious concerns about its fairness and credibility.It noted the failure to register an FIR despite detailed complaints, inordinate delay of over three years, and the decision to confine the enquiry to a single official though several were named.The Court also took note of the DVAC closing the matter after a limited preliminary enquiry. It held that, given the seriousness of allegations involving public funds, an independent and comprehensive probe was necessary to ensure justice..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 statedThe 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..The petitioners were represented by Senior Advocate V Raghavachari with Advocates V Suresh, and AG Vedavikas..The State was represented by Advocate General PS Raman and Additional Advocate General P. Kumaresan, assisted by Additional Government Pleader E Ranganayaki..The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption was represented by Senior Advocate NR Elango with Additional Public Prosecutors ER Raj Thilak and KMD Muhilan..Senthil Balaji was represented by Senior Advocate V Karthic with Advocate Senthil S..Other respondents were represented by Senior Advocate Srinivasa Mohan for M/s TVJ Associates..[Read Judgment]
