3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Aug 19, 2026 12:22 PM IST
Former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain is among six persons arrested by the Anti-Corruption Branch in connection with an alleged corruption case involving the tendering process for sewage treatment plant projects of the Delhi Jal Board. (PTI Photo)
Former Delhi minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Satyendar Jain, who was among six arrested by the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) on Tuesday in a multi-crore sewage treatment plant (STP) tender fraud case, has faced multiple cases of alleged corruption and money laundering over the years.
The latest case is from 2022 when the AAP leader served as the Delhi Water Minister. It originated from a complaint filed by the Directorate of Vigilance, alleging serious irregularities, manipulation of tender conditions and a criminal conspiracy in the upgradation work of sewage treatment plants in the Capital.
The FIR was lodged in May 2024 under sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act among others. In 2025, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is also probing the case, had filed a chargesheet against Jain and 13 others.
Jain has four other cases against him filed by different agencies.
Money laundering: Jain was arrested by the ED for money laundering on May 30, 2022.
The case was based on a CBI FIR lodged against the AAP leader in 2017 under the Prevention of Corruption Act. He was accused of having allegedly laundered money through four companies linked to him when he was a minister in the Delhi government.
Properties worth Rs 4.81 crore were provisionally attached to these companies by the agency.
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Jain was in jail for over 18 months in this case. He walked out of Tihar jail in October 2024 after a Delhi court granted him bail.
Stating that the trial in the case was unlikely to commence soon, let alone be completed, Special Judge Vishal Gogne of Rouse Avenue Court had granted him bail.
In the CBI case against him, Jain had already been granted regular bail by a trial court on September 6, 2019.
CCTV project case: In March 2025, the ACB had booked Jain over alleged corruption in a Rs 571-crore CCTV project.
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Officials said he allegedly accepted a bribe of Rs 7 crore to waive off the liquidated damages (LD) penalty of Rs 16 crore imposed on Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), which was installing CCTVs in the Capital.
PWD hiring: Jain was also booked in a case relating to alleged irregularities in hiring in the Public Works Department (PWD). This was one of the first major corruption cases filed against any senior leader of the AAP.
After almost four years of investigation, the CBI reached the conclusion that there were no irregularities in recruitment, and no one had made any pecuniary gains.
A Delhi court in August 2025 accepted a closure report filed by the CBI against Jain in the case.
Charges are yet to be filed in these cases.
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While filing a chargesheet is an investigative agency’s conclusion of its probe, framing of charges is a judicial order by a judge confirming that there is sufficient prima facie evidence to put the accused on trial.
Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023.
Professional Background
Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University.
Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories.
Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts.
Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials.
Recent notable articles
In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories.
1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey.
2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation.
3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police.
Signature Style
Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public.
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