After 4 years of probe, CBI says they have no case against AAP leader Satyendar Jain, court accepts clean chit

“When the investigating agency has not found any incriminating evidence over such a long period to prove the commission of any offence, particularly under the POC (Prevention of Corruption) Act, 1988, further proceedings would serve no useful purpose,” said Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh of Rouse Avenue Court in his order.

He added, “… When CBI could not find any evidence of criminal conspiracy, abuse of power, pecuniary gain, or wrongful loss to the government exchequer, and the alleged acts are at most administrative irregularities, no offence under Section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act or criminal conspiracy is established.”

Reacting to the development, the AAP slammed the BJP for allegedly framing its leaders in false cases and questioned who would compensate the families for the emotional distress caused by the serious corruption allegations.

In a post on X in Hindi, AAP chief and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asserted that all cases filed against his party leaders are “false”.

On May 29, 2019, according to the court order, an FIR was lodged against Jain, the then Delhi PWD minister, in the case based on a complaint from the Directorate of Vigilance, which alleged irregular engagement of professionals in the PWD in violation of rules, and payments made from unrelated project funds.

The claims against Jain involved hiring a 17-member creative team of consultants for PWD projects allegedly without proper approvals from the Finance department and by bypassing “standard recruitment procedures”.

After an FIR was registered, the CBI examined the justification and need for hiring such professionals, the transparency behind the recruitment process, and the approvals and use of project funds, among others.

Following its investigation, the CBI concluded that the need to hire professionals was justified. It also found that the hiring process began with an open advertisement that resulted in 1,700 applications for the jobs. The agency also found that the selection was based on merit.

In the report, the CBI stated that the hiring of professionals was necessary due to urgent departmental needs and that no payments were made beyond prescribed norms and approved limits. “The total investigation found no criminal activity or wrongful loss to the government… No evidence of quid pro quo or conspiracy has emerged, and the acts of public servants do not constitute fraudulent conduct,” it said.

At the time of hiring, it pointed out, there were close to 50% vacancies in the posts of architects and that major infrastructure projects had to be executed in a time-bound manner by the then Delhi government.

Citing the CBI report, the court noted, “Therefore, hiring through an outsourcing agency was an accepted, common practice.”

The CBI also recommended the rejection of a protest petition against its report. The agency told the court that the petition does not provide any sufficient prima facie evidence from investigations or otherwise, warranting further inquiry.

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