Today, the Supreme Court refused to interfere with the Madras High Court’s decision ordering a CBI investigation into alleged irregularities in transformer tenders floated during the tenure of former Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister V Senthil Balaji.

The case relates to ten tenders issued by the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) between 2021 and 2023 for the purchase of nearly 45,800 distribution transformers worth around ₹1,183 crore.

Two appeals had been filed before the apex court challenging the High Court’s April 29 order — one by TANGEDCO and another by its financial controller, Kasi. While TANGEDCO withdrew its appeal, the Court dismissed Kasi’s plea.

A Bench of Justices Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta, however, clarified that the CBI must carry out the investigation independently and without being influenced by any observations made by the High Court.

The controversy began after NGO Arappor Iyakkam approached the Madras High Court alleging that the tenders had been manipulated to favour certain bidders, causing a loss of nearly ₹397 crore to the State exchequer.

One of the main allegations was that in several tenders, as many as 25 to 37 bidders quoted identical prices — something the petitioner claimed pointed towards cartelisation and violated the Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders Act. The plea also alleged inflated pricing in transformer procurement.

On April 29, the Madras High Court transferred the probe from the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to the CBI.

The Division Bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice Arul Murugan had expressed serious concerns over the manner in which the DVAC handled the enquiry. The Court noted that despite detailed complaints, no FIR had been registered, the enquiry had dragged on for more than three years, and the probe was confined to just one official even though multiple individuals were named in the complaints.

The High Court had directed the DVAC to hand over all records and reports to the CBI within two weeks and ordered the agency to conduct a fresh investigation.

Senior Advocates Siddharth Dave and DS Naidu appeared for Kasi.