ACB registers FIR against AAP’s former Delhi health ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj, Satyendar Jain in hospital corruption case

Similarly, it stated that a Rs 1,125-crore ICU hospital project, comprising seven pre-engineered facilities with 6,800 beds, remains only 50% complete after nearly three years and an expenditure of Rs 800 crore — despite an initial six-month completion timeline.

Madhur Verma, Joint Commissioner of Police of the ACB, said, “A comprehensive investigation has been launched to uncover the full extent of the alleged conspiracy and determine the roles and accountability of the former ministers, officials, and private entities involved.”

“Serious violations of rules, tender conditions, and financial protocols were uncovered during scrutiny, revealing deliberate delays, inflated project costs, rejection of viable alternatives, and the creation of idle assets, collectively leading to massive losses to the public exchequer. Based on the findings, a proposal seeking prior approval under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act was submitted against the former health ministers,” the ACB chief added.

Hitting out at the action, the AAP in a statement questioned why the FIR against Bharadwaj and Jain is being kept under wraps, while selective press notes are being leaked to the media. “Is the FIR so baseless that the BJP fears it will become a national joke if released publicly?” it asked.

Bharadwaj, the current AAP Delhi State President, said, “On June 24, L-G Vinai Saxena issued a press note, and today, Delhi ACB Head Madhur Verma (JCP) also issued a press note for the media. In criminal cases, it is standard practice to release the FIR to the media. The L-G and ACB are deliberately withholding the FIR because it would expose the mockery of law being orchestrated by the BJP government.”

He added, “The FIR would make it abundantly clear that, without any reasonable cause, only two former ministers have been named while all Health and PWD officers, who were actually responsible for executing the hospital projects, have been spared.”

Jain also said, “There is, as yet, no evidence to suggest these project sanctions were marred by corruption. Moreover, all these sanctions predate Bharadwaj’s tenure. How can a minister be held liable for actions taken two to five years before assuming office? Is this some kind of joke?”

The case
On August 22, 2024, a detailed complaint was received from Vijender Gupta, then Leader of Opposition, highlighting grave irregularities and suspected corruption in various health infrastructure projects.

The complaint named Bharadwaj and Jain, alleging systematic manipulation of project budgets, misuse of public funds, and collusion with private contractors. It also alleged massive irregularities, unexplained delays, and significant misappropriation of funds in the construction of various hospitals, polyclinics, and ICU infrastructure across the city.

The ACB said the verification of the complaint revealed unauthorised additional construction at government hospitals in Jwalapuri and Madipur, carried out without approval from the competent authorities. Notably, the Madipur hospital project was to be completed by November 2022, but remains abandoned and far from completion, it said.

Furthermore, the ACB, in its statement, said it was revealed that the seven ICU hospitals contracted to SAM India Buildwell Pvt Ltd have experienced cost escalations exceeding 100%, with construction still incomplete, well beyond the February 2022 deadline.

The ACB, in its statement, also said verification revealed the New Block at Lok Nayak Hospital, awarded to Swadeshi Civil Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, saw project costs escalate from Rs 488 crore to Rs 1,135 crore over four years, with the structure still incomplete beyond its January 2023 deadline.

According to the ACB, the polyclinic project also allegedly involved the misuse of funds — only 52 out of 94 planned clinics were constructed, while the cost increased from Rs 168 crore to Rs 220 crore. Many of these polyclinics remain non-functional.

Despite a public announcement in 2016-17, the Health Information Management System (HIMS) — a crucial tool for ensuring financial transparency in the health department — remains unimplemented, it said. A free, cost-effective solution from the National Informatics Centre (e-Hospital) was allegedly deliberately rejected without justification.

This is the second ACB FIR that Jain has been named in. On April 30, the anti-graft body of the Delhi government had filed an FIR against former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Jain over the alleged corruption in the construction of classrooms in Delhi government schools at highly inflated costs.