Guwahati: The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on a plea seeking a CBI investigation into the awarding of public works contracts in Arunachal Pradesh to companies owned by relatives of Chief Minister Pema Khandu.
While reserving the order, a bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and N V Anjaria directed the parties’ counsel to submit their written arguments within two weeks.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the petitioner NGOs Save Mon Region Federation and Voluntary Arunachal Sena, highlighted a recent affidavit filed by the state government, alleging that multiple contracts were awarded to firms owned by the chief minister’s family.
“There should be a CBI probe. This reeks of corruption,” Bhushan said, adding that the state police may not be able to conduct an impartial investigation.
On December 2 last year, the Supreme Court had directed the Arunachal Pradesh government to file a detailed affidavit listing all contracts awarded between 2015 and 2025, including those involving firms linked to the chief minister’s family.