Kerala HC orders CBI to reinvestigate Travancore Titanium fraud case

The Kerala High Court directed the CBI to investigate the Travancore Titanium fraud case mounting to Rs 256 crore. According to allegations, the Titanium Company suffered significant losses and saw little return on investment while its top executives benefited financially from the initiative.

Kochi: The Kerala High Court directed the CBI to reinvestigate the Travancore Titanium fraud case registered in 2006. The case is connected with the alleged corruption in the establishment of an effluent treatment plant spending Rs 256 crore, in the state-owned Travancore Titanium Products Ltd. The former employee of the company, S Jayan, filed a writ petition in 2020 requesting a directive to the CBI to take over the investigation into the crime. The court allowed the plea, and the order was passed. He said the CBI had declined to take over the inquiry, even though the state government had recommended it.

It was alleged that some firms were awarded the contract to buy equipment for the wastewater treatment facility instead of having a global tender. The accusations in a complaint filed with the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau were deemed to be credible. The UDF government made the decision to establish the effluent treatment plant. 

The CBI told the court that it was not practical to collect the documents of the transaction that took place twenty years ago, saying that the officials were busy with the popular finance fraud case. Rejecting this argument, Justice K Babu's order to submit the investigation report within six months stated that it was blocking the way for the investigation of the case and a denial of justice. 

Higher ranking Titanium Company (State Public Sector Undertaking) officials have been accused of hatching a criminal conspiracy to appoint MECON (Central Government Public Sector Enterprise, a government of India ministry of Steel) as a project consultant for a government project costing over 256 crores.

According to allegations, the Titanium Company suffered significant losses and saw little return on investment while its top executives benefited financially from the initiative.

According to allegations, the high-ranking officials of Titanium Company engaged in corrupt practises, unlawful activities, and misuse of their official authority when they turned over the government project to MECON without conducting a proper ground study, seeking tenders, or imposing appropriate sanctions.

Former chief minister Oommen Chandy, opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala, and former industries minister Ebrahim Kunju were allegedly involved in the matter, according to the complaint.