The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to open a preliminary enquiry into allegations that government contracts in Arunachal Pradesh were systematically awarded to companies with reported links to Chief Minister Pema Khandu's family.
A bench led by Justice Vikram Nath directed the CBI to register the preliminary enquiry within two weeks and submit a status report on its progress within 16 weeks. The enquiry will cover the allotment and execution of government contracts and public works projects in the state over a ten-year window — from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2025.
The court further instructed the CBI to submit a status report on the progress of the enquiry within 16 weeks.
Pronouncing the order, Justice Nath said that the agency must register a preliminary enquiry within two weeks and proceed in accordance with the law. The detailed judgment is yet to be made public. The apex court had reserved its verdict on the matter on February 17 after hearing arguments from both sides.
During the proceedings, the court was informed that government contracts and work orders worth approximately Rs 1,270 crore had been awarded over the past decade to four firms allegedly associated with members of the chief minister's family.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the petitioner organisations - Save Mon Region Federation and Voluntary Arunachal Sena - referred to an affidavit submitted by the Arunachal Pradesh government and argued that several contracts had been granted to companies owned by relatives of the chief minister.
However, the counsel representing the state government had earlier contended that the petition was "sponsored litigation".
Earlier, on December 2 last year, the Supreme Court had directed the Arunachal Pradesh government to submit a comprehensive affidavit detailing all contracts awarded between 2015 and 2025, including those granted to firms linked to the chief minister's family members.
Khandu has been named as a respondent in the public interest litigation. Also listed as parties in the case are Rinchin Drema, the second wife of Khandu's father, Dorjee Khandu, and his nephew, Tsering Tashi. Dorjee Khandu served as the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh from 2007 until his death in a helicopter crash in April 2011. The petition further alleged that Drema's company, Brand Eagles, secured a significant number of government contracts despite what the petitioners described as a clear conflict of interest.
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