The Supreme Court dismissed the petition from former minister Nagam Janardhan Reddy seeking irregularities in the Palamuru-Rangareddy lift irrigation project and demanding a CBI inquiry with these orders. The court noted that it was not acting contrary to the Telangana High Court orders on the matter.
The case was pondered over by a bench consisting of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Satish Chandrashekar Sharma. Senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan, who was representing Nagam Janardhan Reddy, presented the argument that the project was marred by corruption, causing losses in excess of ₹2,000 crore to the treasury of the government.
As per Bhushan, even as the government had approved 65% payments to BHEL for motors and pumps, it was reportedly cut down to a mere 20%. On the other hand, Megha Engineering, which was undertaking civil works, was paid 80% rather than the approved 35%, all on the basis of unpublished internal deals, sparking grave fears of financial mismanagement.
Contrarily, senior lawyer Mukul Rohatgi, appearing on behalf of Megha Engineering, pointed out that the Telangana High Court had already rejected five individual petitions based on these allegations and found no corruption. Rohatgi also indicated that BHEL itself had not complained about any loss and remarked that the petitioners must have submitted selective documents in support of their claims.
After carefully weighing both sides, the Supreme Court declined to direct a CBI investigation and rejected the petition, closing this high-profile scandal. This ruling strengthens the judiciary’s faith in the previous conclusions of the Telangana High Court and sends a signal for moving ahead from this case.
