Special court closes corruption case against AAP leader as CBI finds no evidence against Satyendar Jain

A special court on Monday, 4 August, accepted CBI's closure report filed in a 2018 case against former Delhi PWD minister and AAP leader Satyendar Jain and others for alleged corruption in hiring consultants for the department.

The court said the "investigation found no criminal activity or wrongful loss to the government".

Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh said the investigating agency has not found any incriminating evidence over such a long period, and further proceedings would serve no useful purpose.

The agency had registered the case on May 28, 2018, on a reference from the office of the Lieutenant Governor of the NCT of Delhi to investigate the allegations of irregularities in the award of a tender to a private company for hiring a creative team for PWD works.

"A preliminary enquiry was earlier conducted to look into the matter. It was alleged that the accused persons, while working in the capacity of public servants, deliberately changed the terms and conditions in the NIT so as to make the private company eligible for participating in the tender,” a CBI spokesperson had said after filing the FIR on May 29, 2018.

Four years later, the CBI had filed a closure report in the matter, underlining that there was "no evidence of pecuniary advantage, conspiracy, or corruption".

"The total investigation found no criminal activity or wrongful loss to the government, nor any pecuniary benefit to M/s Soni Detectives. No evidence of quid pro quo or conspiracy has emerged, and the acts of public servants do not constitute fraudulent conduct," the court said.

The agency had said that the professionals were hired transparently through an open advertisement and interview process by a broad-based committee including members from CPWD, DMRC and HUDCO.

The CBI investigation showed that the change in funding source was justified as payments shifted from the “Barapulla elevated corridor” project to “Mohalla Clinics,” as the same creative team served both, with the latter being a priority project fully funded by GNCTD.

The selection of the agency was transparent and done through a fair process, the CBI said in the closure report.