A bench comprising justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta dismissed the petition challenging the high court’s order for a CBI inquiry into the alleged irregularities.
Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, representing an official from the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO), argued that there was no explicit request made to the high court for a CBI investigation and asserted that the proceedings were politically charged.
“There was no request for a CBI enquiry before the high court. This is a politically motivated case,” Dave stated.
Justice Nath noted that the court possesses the authority to initiate such a probe if warranted by the circumstances.
“A specific request is not needed. It depends on the court’s discretion,” the Bench remarked.
Refusing to entertain the special leave petition against the high court ruling, the court indicated its disinclination to entertain the appeal and affirmed that the investigation should progress independently without any influence from the high court’s remarks.
On April 29, the high court ordered a CBI inquiry related to the alleged irregularities in the procurement of 45,000 distribution transformers by the Tamil Nadu government.
In response to the high court order, Balaji asserted that all protocols were meticulously followed in the tendering process and that no misconduct occurred in the transformer procurement.
The DMK leader also pointed out that procurement procedures have been in effect since 1987 and that “the same procedures have been maintained up until now”.
The high court’s directive followed claims that the state faced a financial loss of ₹397 crore between 2021 and 2023.
The court issued the order based on a petition from NGO Arappor Iyakkam, which requested an investigation by a Special Investigation Team, alongside claims from AIADMK legal representatives E Saravanan and Rajkumar for a CBI inquiry into the suspected irregularities.
The petitioners alleged that irregularities totaling ₹397 crore occurred during Balaji’s term as electricity minister in the DMK-led government while procuring 45,000 transformers.
The high court instructed that all relevant complaints be handed over to the CBI for a thorough investigation.
Mandating the CBI to initiate a new investigation into the matter, the high court directed the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to provide all documents related to the case to the central agency within two weeks.
Furthermore, it instructed the CBI, upon receiving the documents, to conduct and conclude the investigation promptly and to take suitable legal action as needed.
The high court also ordered TANGEDCO, the DVAC, and the Tamil Nadu government to fully cooperate with the CBI throughout the investigation.
