Supreme Court dismisses pleas against CBI probe into Senthil Balaji-era transformer tenders

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed an appeal challenging the Madras High Court’s order directing a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into alleged irregularities in transformer tenders floated during the tenure of former Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister V Senthil Balaji [V Kasi Vs Arappor Iyakkam].

Two appeals were filed in the matter, one by Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) and one by its financial controller, Kasi. While the Court dismissed Kasi's appeal, TANGEDCO withdrew its appeal.

A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, while dismissing the appeal, directed the CBI to conduct the investigation uninfluenced by the observations of the Madras High Court.

The case concerns ten tenders floated between 2021 and 2023 for the procurement of around 45,800 distribution transformers valued at approximately ₹1,183 crore by TANGEDCO. V Senthil Balaji was Tamil Nadu's Electricity Minister at the time.

NGO Arappor Iyakkam moved the Madras High Court alleging that ten tenders issued for the procurement of these transformers were manipulated to favour select bidders, causing an alleged loss of nearly ₹397 crore to the State exchequer.

A key allegation was that between 25 and 37 bidders quoted identical prices in several tenders, which the petitioner claimed indicated cartelisation and violated the Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders Act. The plea also alleged inflated pricing in transformer procurement.

The Madras High Court ordered the CBI probe into these allegations on April 29.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice Arul Murugan passed the order transferring the probe from the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to the CBI.

The High Court observed that the manner in which the DVAC handled the enquiry raised serious concerns about fairness and credibility. It noted the failure to register an FIR despite detailed complaints, the delay of over three years in the enquiry, and the decision to confine the probe to a single official though several persons were named in the complaints.

The Court directed DVAC to hand over all records and its report to the CBI within two weeks and ordered the central agency to conduct a de novo investigation.

Subsequently, two appeals were filed before the Supreme Court challenging the High Court’s order, which the top court declined to entertain today.

Senior Advocates Siddharth Dave and DS Naidu appeared for Kasi.