Road contract allegation : Madras High Court orders CBI probe against TN Chief Minister
Chennai, Oct 12 (IBNS) : The Madras High Court Friday ordered a CBI probe into the allegations against Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami in awarding multi-core road contracts to his relatives.
The case was being probed by the state vigilance department, which had recently claimed that there was no basis on complaints filed by the opposition DMK.
On Tuesday, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption had informed the court that no cognisable offence had been made out against CM Palaniswami in a complaint filed by opposition DMK alleging corruption in the award of road contracts.
The Madras High Court has given the DVAC time of one week to "hand over relevant documents to the CBI," besides directing the CBI to also include World Bank officials in its ambit of inquiry.
Justice A D Jagadish Chandira ordered the transfer of the probe to the probe agency while noting that the court had not expressed any opinion on the case. The judge also noted that the order had been passed only in the interest of justice and to ensure free and fair investigation.
The court said it was not satisfied with the report filed by the DVAC and the action taken by the vigilance agency.
Opposition DMK has accused the CM of indulging in irregularities and corruption in awarding road contracts by way of abusing his power and allotting projects worth Rs. 3,500 crore to his relatives.
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