Plea In Supreme Court Against HC Refusal To Order CBI Probe In Alleged Adani Solar Contracts Bribery Case

A Special Leave Petition has been filed before the Supreme Court challenging the Bombay High Court's refusal on March 27, 2026 to direct the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register an FIR into the alleged ₹2,029 crore Adani solar bribery case.

The High Court had dismissed the writ petition filed by social activist Jitendra Punamchand Maru, holding that it was an abuse of the process of law and the petitioner lacked bona fides. 

The special leave petition filed on June 17, is yet to be listed before the Supreme Court. 

The case pertains to allegations that executives of the Adani Group paid over approximately ₹2,029 crore in bribes to Indian government officials to secure power supply agreements under the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI)'s manufacturing linked solar power project involving Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Jammu & Kashmir.

The alleged contracts were projected to generate more than US$2 billion in profits over about two decades.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Suman Shyam had dismissed Maru's writ petition seeking a direction to the CBI to register an FIR into the alleged bribery. Maru contended that the allegations disclosed cognisable offences warranting investigation by Indian authorities.

The High Court however, found that the petitioner had primarily relied upon newspaper reports, failed to explain the delay in approaching the Court and had not demonstrated any genuine public interest. Observing that the writ petition lacked bona fides, the Court held:

"The petitioner has no locus to file this writ petition and he has not approached the Court with clean hands. This writ petition does not serve any public purpose."

The Court also cautioned that indiscriminate criminal proceedings against corporate entities could have serious consequences, observing:

"Rather, a petition like the present one causes serious harms and is likely to cause harm to the reputation and business prospects of any Corporate group."

Holding that the writ petition was an abuse of the process of law and devoid of bona fides, the High Court dismissed it.