The Supreme Court has directed the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to investigate corruption allegations against the Arunachal Pradesh government during the tenure of 2007-11. This directive comes in response to a public interest litigation alleging irregularities in tender processes conducted by the state government a decade ago.
The petition, filed by a non-governmental organization (NGO) in 2010, challenged a decision of the Gauhati High Court, implicating former Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu and current Chief Minister Pema Khandu (son of Dorjee Khandu) in their personal capacities.
During proceedings, concerns were raised about the time gap between the alleged occurrences and the hearing. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the petitioner, underscored the apparent corruption, citing instances where contracts were awarded without proper tender processes, often to relatives of the Chief Minister.
In response, the State of Arunachal Pradesh argued that since the alleged beneficiary and former Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu had passed away, the petition had abated against him.
In a previous hearing in October 2023, the Court sought clarification from the CAG regarding the propriety of awarding government contracts to close relatives of the Executive Head of the State and the norms governing such practices. Now, the CAG has been tasked with investigating these allegations.
Legal representatives for the petitioner include Advocates Prashant Bhushan and Neha Rathi.
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