The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Arunachal Pradesh government to file a comprehensive affidavit detailing all public works contracts awarded across the state between 2015 and 2025. The directive comes amidst serious scrutiny of tenders allegedly granted to firms owned by the family members of Chief Minister Pema Khandu, with the Court observing that the current statistics are “telling.”
A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta passed the order while hearing a plea seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into allegations of corruption and conflict of interest in the award of government contracts.
During the hearing, the bench made strong observations regarding the nature of the tender process. Noting that the price difference between competing bids was allegedly negligible, the Court remarked, “The coincidence is absolutely remarkable.”
The bench further observed that if the margins between tenders were indeed miniscule, it points towards “cartelisation.” Highlighting the gravity of the situation, the Court stated, “If that is so, that becomes serious,” adding that the statistics presented before them were “telling.”
At one point during the proceedings, the bench drew a sharp parallel to past corruption scandals, asking the petitioners if the situation was akin to the “Bihar Chara Ghotala (Bihar fodder scam).” Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioners, responded, “In a way.”
A significant portion of the hearing revolved around the scope of the data provided by the State. The counsel for the Arunachal Pradesh government argued that the controversy and the petition were limited only to the Tawang district. Consequently, the State’s initial affidavit only contained details regarding Tawang.
The Supreme Court firmly rejected this limitation. “We do not find any such confinement or limitation of the petition being confined to district Tawang or the order passed by this court earlier limited it to district Tawang,” the bench asserted.
Expressing skepticism over the State’s reluctance to provide statewide data, the Court remarked, “We may rather think on a line that you are trying to conceal something.”
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the petitioner NGOs Save Mon Region Federation and Voluntary Arunachal Sena, highlighted specific figures from the State’s affidavit. He submitted that 31 contracts worth Rs 188 crore, along with work orders worth Rs 2.61 crore, were awarded to firms owned by the immediate family members of Chief Minister Khandu.
Bhushan drew the Court’s attention to the State’s justification for these awards. He argued, “… They (state) say that we want to give the contracts to companies which are trusted by the local people and the companies trusted by the local people are the companies of the Chief Minister, his wife etc. because he comes from that area.”
The petitioners also referred to previous allegations where the State reportedly paid for the transportation of rice by “head load” in areas where roads existed, arguing that using trucks would have been significantly cheaper.
The Court’s Decision
The Supreme Court has granted the Arunachal Pradesh government eight weeks to file a fresh, detailed affidavit. The Court clarified the following requirements for the new submission:
- It must cover all districts of the state, not just Tawang.
- It must provide details of contracts awarded from 2015 to 2025.
- It must include up-to-date information on parties to whom contracts were awarded, specifically those related to the Chief Minister or his immediate family.
The bench clarified that while it has not yet shown an inclination to order an investigation, it first requires the complete data to decide whether an inquiry is necessary. The matter has been posted for the next hearing on February 3.
The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) names Chief Minister Pema Khandu, his father’s second wife Rinchin Drema, and his nephew Tsering Tashi as parties. The plea alleges that Brand Eagles, a firm owned by Drema, was awarded a large number of government contracts despite a clear conflict of interest. Pema Khandu’s father, Dorjee Khandu, served as the Chief Minister of the state from 2007 until his demise in 2011.
