The Bombay High Court on Tuesday stayed a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe against Tata Consulting Engineers Ltd for its role in the alleged fraud during the channel deepening work at Jawaharlal Nehru Port located near Mumbai.
Media reported last week that Tata Consulting Engineers, a unit of Tata Sons Ltd, has filed a petition in the Bombay High Court seeking to quash the First Information Report (FIR) lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in which one of its senior officials have been named.
Tata Consulting Engineers acted as the Project Management Consultant (PMC) for the channel deepening project that was executed in two phases over 7-8 years.
In its petition seeking to quash the FIR, Tata Consulting Engineers contended that its role was limited to consultancy while denying it had any involvement in the alleged financial and contractual irregularities cited by CBI. It also said there is no material evidence to back the charges brought by the CBI.
A bench comprising Justice A S Gadkari and Justice Rajesh Patil halted the investigations citing serious lapses in the search and seizure memo of the anti-graft agency.
The counsel for CBI has been asked to take instructions on the FIR, including on whose complaint it was filed, in the wake of media reports that even the Attorney General of India and the Board of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority found no evidence in the alleged irregularities.
The petition will be heard again after two weeks.