The Uttarakhand government received a big blow as the Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to entertain its special leave petition (SLP) to quash a high court order for CBI probe into the horticulture scam.

The refusal of the apex court to quash the Nainital High Court order, which has come as a big setback to the Pushkar Singh Dhami Government, caused disquiet in the ruling BJP in the state as several BJP leaders’ names have surfaced in the horticulture scam.

What’s more, the state government is suspecting that more names, including those of senior party leaders and officials, could crop up during the probe by the Central probe agency.

The high court, during a hearing of a PIL filed by an RTI activist Deepak Kargeti in October 2023, had ordered the CBI to investigate the matter.

Kargeti had alleged in the PIL that the state Horticulture Department was involved in siphoning of public funds and financial irregularities worth crores of rupees through fake plantation drives.

The petitioner alleged that the Horticulture Department awarded work order for the plantation and procured plants and saplings worth crores of rupees on the same day from Jammu and Kashmir in one day. Kartegti demanded a probe by the CBI or any other independent agency.

Conceding to the demand, the Nainital High Court accepted the demand and ordered CBI investigation in the matter.

Significantly, the high court had earlier given enough time to a special investigation team (SIT) to probe following a state government’s request for the same.

The court had categorically stated that it would keep a watch on how the SIT investigated the matter. But it was not satisfied by the state government’s argument that the SIT had completed the probe. In fact, prior to ordering CBI probe, the court asked the government what action it took against those named in the probe.

Initially, the Dhami Government vacillated on filing of the SLP against HC order as it had decided not to move ahead with the plan. In fact, the state Law Department had also advised against the idea to moving a SLP in the Supreme Court against the HC order. However, the state government persisted on it and went ahead with the SLP against the HC order only to be rejected by the apex court.

Officials in the department informed that several political faces have surfaced up in the CBI probe, which might lead to an embarrassment to the BJP and the state government.

Ironically, the state government has already suspended the then horticulture director HS Baweja after the scam came to light in 2022 but the HC was not amused by the decision.