New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India has rejected a petition by former minister Nagam Janardhan Reddy. He had accused the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS) of financial misconduct and wanted a deeper probe.
A bench led by Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma reviewed the case. They found no need to change the earlier decision by the Telangana High Court, which had already dismissed a similar plea back on December 3, 2018.
The court noted that Dr. Nagam had filed four other cases related to the same irrigation project. All of them were either dismissed or resolved, with no appeals left pending.
The judges also referred to findings by the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC). The CVC had found no solid proof to support Dr. Nagam’s claims of fraud. During the hearing, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, who represented Dr. Nagam, tried to shift focus to a request for a CBI investigation into the alleged irregularities.
However, Justice Nagarathna questioned whether changing project rates really amounted to fraud. She said such decisions could simply reflect government policy choices, and courts could not monitor every administrative move.
Mukul Rohatgi, former Attorney General and lawyer for Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL), argued that Dr. Nagam had a history of filing repeated cases on the same issue. He called it harassment and also pointed out the earlier CVC report that found no wrongdoing.
After hearing both sides, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the High Court’s earlier decision. It agreed there was no strong reason to order a CBI probe. The bench declared the petition had no merit and officially dismissed it.
