The Supreme Court was on Tuesday told that government contracts worth ₹1,270 crore were awarded to four firms linked to the family members of Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu in the last 10 years.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and N.V. Anjaria reserved its verdict on a plea seeking an SIT or a CBI probe into the alleged award of contracts.

“The state police machinery is under the chief minister. It reeks of corruption. We want a CBI probe,” advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGOs Voluntary Arunachal Sena and Save Mon Region Federation, told the bench.

The NGOs alleged that the state government had entered into agreements with relatives of Pema Khandu or his father, Dorjee Khandu, for several restoration projects.

Activists who filed corruption cases against the chief minister have been charged with sedition, the NGOs claimed.

The chief minister, through his counsel, had during an earlier hearing denied the allegations of corruption and argued that awarding contracts in northeastern states and Jammu and Kashmir was not easy as contractors often refused to proceed with the work.

During the course of the arguments on Tuesday, Bhushan placed in the court a purported summary of the contracts awarded in the last 10 years, which revealed that at least four firms linked to
the chief minister or his family members were the beneficiaries.

“A total of ₹1,270 crore of work awarded in the last 10 years to these firms, which belongs directly to his wife, or him or his mother… roughly 3 per cent of contracts of the state are awarded to these firms,” Bhushan said.

When Justice Nath asked what relief the petitioners were seeking, Bhushan said: “A CBI investigation... In all, there are 15 firms, which we think should be investigated.”

Bhushan said the investigation should examine whether the contracts were awarded through tenders, and if so, whether it was disclosed in the public domain that the firms were linked to the chief minister and his kin.

Bhushan said the probe should also find out whether there was a collusion between government officials and if offences were committed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

“When you have the chief minister at the top of things, state police will not be able to investigate the matter,” Bhushan added, seeking a CBI probe.

On December 2, the top court had asked the state government to file a comprehensive affidavit detailing the contracts awarded from 2015 to 2025, including those to firms linked to CM Khandu’s kin.