The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has ordered a CBI probe into the decision of the former Bahujan Samaj Party government to allot a tender to sell high security registration plates in the state to a Mumbai-based company.
The court set aside the contract on Tuesday and ordered a CBI probe into the circumstances under which the deal was awarded to Mumbai-based Shimnit Utsch India Pvt Ltd.
A division bench of justices slapped a Rs 50 lakh fine to be recovered from the UP government and the company in equal proportion. The court directed the state government to hold an enquiry fixing responsibility on officials who participated in finalising the contract in favour of the company and recover the amount from them.
The order came on the writ petition filed by Celex Technologies Pvt Ltd and others challenging the contract awarded to Shimnit. The court asked the CBI to complete its investigation within six months and to inform the court of the progress every two months.
The Mayawati government had invited tenders for high-security number plates. It granted the contract to Shimnit. The other bidders said this was done in violation of statutory provisions.
