The Bombay High Court has stayed the CBI investigation against Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE) in connection with the alleged ₹800 crore scam related to the capital dredging project of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA).
The Division Bench comprising Justice A.S. Gadkari and Justice Rajesh Patil passed the order after observing serious procedural lapses in the CBI’s search and seizure memorandum. The Court’s interim relief halts the ongoing probe against TCE, one of the private consultants named in the case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The case relates to a 2003 project aimed at expanding the shared navigational channel between JNPA and Mumbai Port to accommodate larger cargo vessels. TCE was appointed as the project management consultant and was responsible for drafting tender documents and supervising execution. The final planning report for Phase I was submitted in 2010.
However, an FIR registered by the CBI on June 18, 2025, alleged that key officials at JNPA and TCE, in collusion with dredging contractors and other public officials, engaged in a criminal conspiracy that resulted in massive financial losses to the exchequer.
The High Court has granted a stay of the investigation by the CBI considering the submission that the FIR was initiated mala fide and media reports have suggested that the learned Attorney General has given an opinion on the matter to the government. It was also submitted that TCE had acted entirely in accordance with the government’s various guidelines while recommending tender conditions and the nature of the contract.
The matter will now be taken up for further hearing after the stay.