The Madhya Pradesh High Court has issued a notice to the State government on a public interest litigation invoking the court’s direction for an independent inquiry into an alleged scam involving paddy and rice worth ₹43.03 crores. The petition contends that rice millers and transporters, in collusion with government officials, sold rice intended for public distribution in the open market by using fabricated documents. During the hearing, the State’s counsel informed the court that action has already been initiated, pointing out that an FIR has been lodged, and asked for time to file an affidavit in support. Accepting the submission, the division bench comprising the Chief Justice and another judge directed that notice issue to the respondents and directed that the matter be listed for a return hearing in four weeks.
The petition describes the procurement and distribution framework managed by the Civil Supply Corporation under the public distribution scheme, in which the State allocates, supervises, and monitors paddy from farmers through rice millers to end consumers. The process is overseen by a milling policy and a standard operating procedure. As per the policy and procedure, rice millers must obtain permission from the Corporation, particularly for inter-state procurement and transportation. Millers are required to deposit security as prescribed and enter into an agreement with the Corporation regarding procurement, milling, and the required deposition of rice at notified locations within the prescribed timeframe. Prior to release orders being granted, the millers are not informed of the procurement centre allocation. Information about the paddy challan truck is to be updated in a portal by a computer operator appointed by the Warehousing and Logistic Corporation.
The petition asserts that collusion and lack of oversight permitted the paddy to be diverted from its intended route and sold illicitly in the open market using forged documentation. A probe instituted by the District Administration of Jabalpur, acting on suspicion, revealed embezzlement totaling more than ₹43.03 crores, and implicated officials of the Corporation. Although the State had issued directives to verify transport for the 2024-25 session following the complaint, the petition claims that those directives were not adhered to. Further, media reports were cited alleging that paddy smuggling had surged in the Balaghat district due to failure to impose GPS tracking norms.
The petition demands a state-level independent investigation, contending that the malfeasance may form part of a larger inter-state scam. The court has scheduled further proceedings for a subsequent date to examine the State’s response.
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