The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) to probe allegations of over-invoicing of coal and equipment by several companies, including the Adani and Essar groups. The court directed the central agencies to take action as per law.
“The court finds it fit to direct the respondents to carefully and expeditiously examine the allegations of the petitioners and to ascertain the actual truth and take appropriate action as per law against the erring companies,” the High Court bench ordered.
The High Court issued the directive in response to two Public Interest Litigation (PILs) filed by the Public Interest Litigation Institute, represented by advocate Prashant Bhushan. Along with this, another PIL filed by activist Harsh Mandar has also been registered in the court.
The petitioner had sought an SIT probe into the reports of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) regarding various private power generation companies.
Last month, the DRI department sought permission from the Supreme Court to restart its probe into the Adani group. It has also sought the High Court’s approval to collect evidence of over-invoicing of coal imports from Singapore.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has been trying to obtain transaction documents related to Adani’s businesses from Singaporean authorities since 2016. Adani group companies allegedly defrauded coal shipments imported from Indonesian suppliers by creating prices higher than the original prices, the reports said.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) began probing the Adani group’s imports as part of a wider probe into 40 companies that began in 2014.
