Patna HC questions ED, vigilance unit over inaction against officials in tender scam

The Patna High Court has questioned the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Bihar's Special Vigilance Unit (SVU) over their alleged failure to act against several senior government officials linked to a multi-crore tender scam, observing that the investigating agencies appeared to be attempting to protect some individuals while proceeding against others.

Justice Satyavrat Verma, in an order passed on October 15, observed that contractor Rishu Shree, who remains in judicial custody, appeared to be a pawn rather than the principal operator of the alleged money-laundering network, while the key players remained behind the curtains.

The observations came during the hearing of a petition filed by Shree against the ED's Patna Zone in connection with allegations of tender manipulation, corruption and money laundering involving government contracts in Bihar.

𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝗴𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

The court noted that the ED had shared information under Section 66 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, identifying six senior government officials allegedly connected to the case. However, the SVU had registered a case against only three of them.

The bench also questioned why the ED had not summoned several other officials despite possessing information about their suspected involvement since February 2025.

"The court gets an impression that the authorities are trying to save some and implicate few when the law is same for everyone," the order stated.

Justice Verma described the ED's response to the court's questions as evasive and expressed concern over the direction and progress of the investigation.

The bench also questioned whether the alleged offences could have been committed by the petitioner alone in collusion with private individuals, without the involvement of government officials responsible for awarding contracts.

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿’𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀

Shree, whose firms have undertaken contracts and subcontracts for several Bihar government departments, was arrested by the SVU on May 27 in connection with the alleged tender manipulation and money-laundering case.

His firms were associated with departments including Water Resources, Health, Public Health Engineering, Urban Development, Education, Building Construction and Rural Works.

Investigators alleged that Shree maintained connections with government officials to secure tenders and obtain unlawful financial benefits.

An earlier ED report alleged that the contractor financed foreign trips and other expenses of two IAS officers and their family members in exchange for favourable treatment in the award of government contracts.

The SVU filed a chargesheet against seven people, including an IAS officer, in June this year. During the investigations, the names of several engineers and senior officials also surfaced, prompting the registration of separate FIRs based on information shared by the ED.

𝗩𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻

The High Court directed Shree to implead the SVU, through its Additional Director General, as a respondent in the proceedings.

It further directed the agency to submit a counter-affidavit explaining why all the government officials identified in the ED's information were not named as accused and what its investigation had revealed about their alleged involvement.

The court's observations have brought the conduct of both investigating agencies under judicial scrutiny, particularly over the apparent disparity in action against officials whose names surfaced during the probe.

The matter has been listed for further hearing on November 27 at 3 pm.