Chandigarh, June 25 -- : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has initiated a probe into the alleged Rs.11.5-crore excess payment scam in the construction of the Judicial Court Complex at Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar (Nawanshahr) and has summoned former public works department (PWD) executive engineer Ram Singh with relevant records. Sources said Ram Singh, who was posted in Nawanshahr during the period under scrutiny, was directed to appear before the agency on June 24. However, he is learnt to have sought additional time, informing the ED that he has recently retired from government service. According to documents accessed by HT, the ED has sought a range of records, including the report of the departmental enquiry committee against former executive engineer Balwinder Singh and others, details of the tender floated for the Judicial Court Complex, bid documents submitted by contractor M/s Tung Builders Pvt Ltd, work orders issued to the company, details of work executed and payments released, and documents relating to alleged excess payments made to the contractor. The ED's action follows an FIR registered at Sadar Nawanshahr police station in August 2024 against seven PWD officials and a government contractor for allegedly causing a loss of Rs.11.5 crore to the state exchequer through excess payments during construction of the judicial complex. Those named in the FIR include former executive engineers Balwinder Singh (retired), Jasbir Singh Jassi and Rajinder Kumar; sub-divisional engineer Ram Pal; junior engineers Rajiv Kumar, Rakesh Kumar and Rajinder Singh; and accounts officer Rajesh Kumar. They were booked under Sections 409 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC, along with Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The contractor named in the case is M/s Tung Builders Pvt Ltd. The FIR was registered on the recommendations of the PWD department after an internal enquiry reportedly found serious irregularities in the execution of the project. The inquiry, titled "Misutilisation of funds regarding Judicial Court Complex, SBS Nagar", was ordered in July 2023 after concerns were raised by a Punjab and Haryana high court committee over delays in completion of the project. The judicial complex, spread over 13.2 acres and estimated to cost around Rs.55 crore, was designed to include 11 courtrooms, 156 lawyers' chambers, residential accommodation for judicial officers and other infrastructure. However, the departmental probe found substantial deficiencies in execution and financial management. According to the probe report, undue benefits were allegedly extended to the contractor through excess payments, price escalation, release of performance security and bank guarantees, and payments for work that was either incomplete or not executed. The committee found that door and window frames, glass panes, steel for a multilevel parking structure, Kota stone and coloured granite were either not installed or not available at the site despite payments having been released, causing an estimated loss of Rs.3.42 crore. The report also noted that the contractor received an escalation payment of Rs.2.67 crore, whereas the technically vetted estimate had provided only Rs.1.85 crore for escalation. It alleged that a bank guarantee worth Rs.1 crore was released and that signatures used for its release were suspected to be forged. In addition, security deposits amounting to Rs.2 crore were allegedly returned to the contractor without imposing any penalty despite non-completion of the project....