Supreme Court
Seeks CAG’s Response, Can Close Relatives of State’s Executive Head Be Awarded
Govt Contracts?
In the SLP
raising allegations regarding the awarding of government tenders by the state
government of Arunachal Pradesh while resuming its hearing in the Supreme
Court.
1.)
In the
event this question is answered in the affirmative, what would be the norms for
awarding contracts to such persons?
2.)
“Whether
very close relative(s) to the Executive Head of the State can be awarded
Government contracts.
This order has been
passed in pursuance to the last order wherein the Court expressed its intention
to seek assistance from the CAG in the matter with the matter without
impleading him as a party.
It may be recalled that
the present SLP stems from the allegations that contracts were given and allocated
by the state government of Arunachal Pradesh without floating any tender
and further process. The same has been filed by a NOG named “Voluntary
Arunachal Sena” and was represented by Advocate Prashant Bhushan.
The petitioner organization filed
the petition in the Supreme Court in 2010 challenging a decision of the Gauhati
High Court to dismiss a PIL filed in
2007. Pertinently, Dorjee Khandu, the chief Minister during the 2007-2011 term
is a respondent in the petition in a personal capacity. The petition had also
added the incumbent Chief Minister Pema Khandu (son of Dorjee Khandu) as an
additional respondent in his personal capacity later.
