Supreme Court orders CBI probe into Rs 1,270-crore govt contracts to firms linked to Arunachal Chief Ministers family

PTC News Desk: The Supreme Court has ordered the CBI to carry out an initial inquiry into claims that government contracts in Arunachal Pradesh were given to companies linked to Chief Minister Pema Khandu’s family.

The court acted on a petition filed by the Save Mon Region Federation. It told the CBI to look into how public works contracts were awarded and carried out between 2015 and 2025. The inquiry will focus on contracts allegedly given to firms connected to the Chief Minister’s relatives, including his wife, mother, and nephew. The court said the CBI should examine how tenders were given, how projects were executed, and how payments were made. It also said the agency can look beyond this time period if needed.

The CBI has been given 16 weeks to submit a report on whether a full investigation is needed.

The Supreme Court made it clear that it is not deciding whether the allegations are true at this stage, but only checking if a deeper probe is required. The petitioners claim that contracts worth about ₹1,270 crore were wrongly given to companies linked to the Chief Minister’s family. Their lawyer, Prashant Bhushan, said the contracts were given unfairly and at higher prices.

The petition also mentioned a company owned by Khandu’s wife, M/s Brand Eagles, and another owned by his nephew, Tsering Tashi, an MLA from Tawang, claiming both got contracts without proper procedure.

The petition, filed in 2024, asked for an investigation by the CBI or a Special Investigation Team into alleged favouritism in giving government contracts to the Chief Minister’s relatives.