Madras High Court orders CBI probe into fake NOCs used to establish fuel outlets

Madras High Court orders CBI investigation into fake NOCs used for establishing fuel outlets amid dissatisfaction with previous probe results.

The Madras High Court has ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into hundreds of retail outlets of petrol, diesel and auto gas having been established across the State on the strength of fake No Objection Certificates (NOCs) reportedly issued by Collectors and Commissioners of Police before 2020.

First Division Bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G. Arul Murugan directed the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) to handover the entire case files to the CBI officials. The direction was issued after expressing dissatisfaction over the probe conducted by the CB-CID.

The Bench pointed out that the fake NOC racket in the State had come to light during the hearing of a random habeas corpus petition by Justices N. Kirubakaran (since retired) and P. Velmurugan in October 2020. That petition was related to preventive detention of two individuals named K.L. Sivakumar and C. Jayaprakash.

Then, the Bench found they had been accused of issuing fake NOCs with the seal of the Greater Chennai City Commissioner of Police. Suspecting that the crime could not have been be limited to Chennai, the judges directed the Director General of Police to verify the records in all districts and submit a detailed report.

Accordingly, the DGP reported to the court as many as 91 fake NOCs appeared to have been used to run fuel outlets across the State. However, after the retirement of Justice Kirubakaran in August 2021, the habeas corpus petition was closed by another Division Bench of the High Court on September 6, 2021.

Thereafter, in 2023, the present writ petition was filed by advocate V.B.R. Menon seeking stern action on the issue. The investigation into the matter was transferred to the CB-CID which began probing the establishment of several fuel outlets in Chennai, Erode and Dindigul districts on the basis of fake NOCs.