Arunachal CM Accused of Awarding Rs 1,270 Cr Contracts to Family Members

The Supreme Court has reserved its judgment in a public interest litigation seeking a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into alleged irregularities in the award of government contracts worth around Rs 1,270 crore to firms linked to Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and his relatives.

The petitioners have alleged that public works contracts over the past decade were granted to companies owned or controlled by the Chief Minister, his wife, mother, and nephew, raising concerns of conflict of interest and corruption.

A bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta reserved orders after hearing submissions from senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, who appeared for the petitioners.

Bhushan argued that, based on the state’s affidavit, four firms, Brand Eagle, Frontier Associates, Alliance Trading, and RD Construction, collectively received contracts worth approximately Rs 1,245 crore over the last 10 years. Including additional works, the total value of contracts awarded to these firms comes to around Rs 1,270 crore, he submitted.

According to the submissions, ‘Brand Eagles,’ allegedly owned by the Chief Minister’s wife, received 31 contracts over 11 years valued at about Rs 188 crore. Of these, 15 were awarded through tender and 16 through work orders. Another firm, ‘Frontier Associates,’ allegedly owned by the Chief Minister, was granted 91 contracts over 13 years amounting to roughly Rs 145 crore, with several works reportedly awarded without competitive tendering.

Bhushan further stated that 322 works were awarded through work orders valued at approximately Rs 25 crore. He contended that many such works were allotted before the 2020 amendment that permitted limited work orders without tender, and argued that existing rules restrict the number of works that can be awarded to a single firm at a time.

He urged the Court to order a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or SIT probe, saying that the pattern of contract awards “reeks of corruption.”

Senior Advocate Rauf Rahim, appearing for the Arunachal Pradesh government, responded that the Court had directed the affidavit to focus on the period between 2015 and 2025. The state restricted its response to four firms and contested broader allegations.

The petitioners have sought investigation into whether the firms are directly linked to the Chief Minister or his family members, whether such relationships were disclosed to tender-awarding authorities, whether bidders were related to each other, whether contracts were granted at normal market rates, and whether projects were completed as per tender conditions.

The case originated from a 2024 petition alleging that key infrastructure projects were awarded to firms closely associated with the Chief Minister, including M/s Brand Eagles, allegedly owned by his spouse, and M/s Alliance Trading Co., owned by his nephew Tsering Tashi, an MLA from Tawang district.

The Supreme Court had issued notice in January 2024. In March 2025, it sought detailed responses from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, and the state government regarding the award of public works tenders and any relationship between the firms and the Chief Minister’s family.

The matter also references an earlier Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report in a separate case involving Dorjee Khandu, former Chief Minister and father of Pema Khandu, which had highlighted the Code of Conduct prohibiting ministers from granting undue advantage to relatives

Also Read: Arunachal's Pema Khandu Named Second Richest CM in India