Latest news with #PreventionofCorruption)Act
Time of India
05-08-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
AAP's Satyendar Jain gets clean chit in PWD corruption case: What were the allegations against him?
Live Events What was the case about? (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel A Delhi court on Monday accepted the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) closure report in a 2019 case against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Satyendar Jain , ending a years-long probe into alleged irregularities in recruitment within the Public Works Department (PWD) during his tenure as the verdict, Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh said the investigation had not produced evidence of any criminal misconduct.'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,' the judge further observed that 'no offence under Section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act or criminal conspiracy is established,' and that the alleged acts amounted, 'at most,' to administrative lapses. The court emphasised that there was no indication of 'criminal conspiracy, abuse of power, pecuniary gain, or wrongful loss to the government exchequer.'The CBI had filed its final report after nearly four years of investigation, concluding that there was 'no criminal activity or wrongful loss to the government' in the matter. The agency also recommended rejecting a protest petition filed against its findings, calling it unsupported by prima facie to the development, the AAP accused the BJP of misusing central agencies. Arvind Kejriwal , the party's chief and former Delhi chief minister, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that all cases filed against AAP leaders were 'false' and asked who would be held accountable for the emotional toll on their CBI registered an FIR on May 29, 2019, based on a complaint from the Directorate of Vigilance. It accused Jain, then serving as Delhi's PWD minister, of bypassing established procedures to hire a 17-member team of complaint alleged that the appointments were made without proper approval from the Finance Department and that payments were routed from unrelated project CBI inquiry focused on whether the hiring process was transparent, whether funds were misused, and whether rules were ignored to benefit specific according to the agency's closure report, the recruitment began with a public advertisement that attracted around 1,700 applications. The CBI stated that the professionals were hired on merit, and the appointments were justified given that nearly 50% of architectural posts were vacant at the time. The department was also handling large infrastructure projects requiring urgent court, citing the agency's findings, noted that 'hiring through an outsourcing agency was an accepted, common practice.' It further underlined that 'no payments were made beyond prescribed norms and approved limits,' and there was no evidence of 'quid pro quo or conspiracy.'
Hindustan Times
05-08-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Delhi court disposes of PWD irregularities case against Satyendar Jain
A Delhi court on Monday disposed of a corruption case against former Public Works Department (PWD) minister Satyendar Jain, of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), alleging irregularities in hiring a creative team for PWD's infrastructure projects in 2016 and causing a loss to the public exchequer. Satyendar Jain is also facing an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) probe over an alleged ₹ 7 crore bribe from a company tasked with installing CCTV cameras in Delhi. Special judge Dig Vinay Singh, accepting the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI's) closure report filed in 2022, said, '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 PC Act or criminal conspiracy is established.' The court noted that despite several years of investigation carried out by the probe agency, no incriminating evidence has been found. 'Not every decision made in an official capacity that does not strictly follow rule warrants invoking the POC (Prevention of Corruption) Act,' the court said. CBI had filed the case against Jain in May 2018, based on a reference from Delhi lieutenant governor, to investigate allegations of irregularities in awarding a tender to a private firm for PWD's infrastructure projects. Senior officials of PWD, including its engineer-in-chief, were also named as accused. According to the FIR, Jain and other PWD officials were accused of irregularities in hiring a 'creative team' of consultants, in breach of recruitment and financial regulations. They were also accused of outsourcing professionals for PWD projects without the finance department's approval. To be sure, Jain is facing two other cases, one pertaining a disproportionate assets case, in which he is accused of amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income, up to approximately ₹1.62 crore between 2015 and 2017. Jain was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in the case in 2022 and granted bail in 2024. Jain is also facing an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) probe over an alleged ₹7 crore bribe from a company tasked with installing CCTV cameras in Delhi. Both cases are at the Rouse Avenue Court and charges have not been framed in either. Following the verdict, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal posted on X in Hindi: 'All the cases filed against 'you' leaders are false. With time, the truth will come out in all cases. We were sent to jail by filing false cases against us. Shouldn't all those who filed these false cases and the leaders at whose behest these false cases were filed be sent to jail?Whenever they wanted... they sent us to jail, and whenever they felt like it, they filed a 'closure report'? Is this justice?' The BJP did not respond to requests for comment on the matter. In its closure report in the PWD case, the CBI said that it found no criminality or evidence of personal gain, bribery or any criminal intent or violation of financial rules. On the hiring process, the CBI concluded that there was no irregularity in the selection process and the same was based on merit and qualification. Meanwhile, on the financial aspect, the agency found no irregularity of illicit gain to any of the accused, stating that the expenditure for the project was well within the threshold delegated to the PWD, and there was no mandatory requirement to consult the finance department. 'The hiring of professionals was necessary due to urgent departmental needs. A transparent recruitment process was followed through a competitive method, and no payments were made beyond prescribed norms and approved limits. Emoluments were neither excessive nor irregular,' the CBI said. A protest petition was moved by the Directorate of Vigilance of the Delhi government in 2022, challenging the report's findings, alleging that the CBI carried out a 'biased' probe, ignoring documentary evidence and relying solely on witness statements. Rejecting the protest plea, the court on Monday stated that the law clearly stated that suspicion cannot replace proof and even to charge someone, a strong suspicion was needed to proceed. 'The precedents relied upon by the complainant are distinguishable on the facts and do not help in the facts of the present case,' the court said.
The Hindu
05-08-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Court closes CBI case against Satyendra Jain after no evidence of illegal gains found
A Delhi court on Monday (August 4, 2025) allowed the closure report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a case related to alleged irregularities in hiring in the Public Works Department (PWD) case against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Satyendar Jain after neither corruption not criminal conspiracy was proved against him. Special Judge (PC Act) Dig Vinay Singh of the Rouse Avenue Courts noted that 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. The judge added that after having investigated the matter for about four years, CBI found no criminality or evidence of personal gain, bribery, or any criminal intent or violation of financial rules. '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 PC Act or criminal conspiracy is established,' the court said. It added that 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 Act, 1988, further proceedings would serve no useful purpose. Observing that not every decision made in an official capacity that does not strictly follow rules warrants invoking the POC Act, the court added that mere neglect of duty or improper exercise of duty alone may not constitute a violation under the POC Act. The case pertains to an FIR lodged on the complaint of the vigilance department in May 2019, in which it was alleged that Mr Jain, the then minister of Public Works Department (PWD) in the Delhi government, had approved the hiring of a 17-member team of consultants for the department through outsourcing thereby, bypassing standard government recruitment procedures. During over four years of investigation, the CBI found that the hiring of professionals was necessary due to urgent departmental needs and that the recruitment process was transparent and competitive. The agency, in its closure report, stated that a transparent recruitment process was followed through a competitive method, and no payments were made beyond prescribed norms and approved limits. Emoluments were neither excessive nor irregular. Therefore, no evidence of corruption, criminal conspiracy, undue favour, or personal gain was found, and a closure report is preferred.
Indian Express
04-08-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Further proceedings would serve no purpose: Delhi court accepts CBI closure report favouring AAP leader Satyendar Jain
A Delhi court Monday accepted the closure report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in favour of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain in a case related to alleged irregularities in hiring in the Public Works Department (PWD). '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. '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,' he added. The CBI had claimed in its report that it found no irregularities in the case after an investigation that lasted almost four years. On May 29, 2019, an FIR was lodged against Jain, the then 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 allegations against Jain involved hiring a 17-member creative team of consultants irregularly for PWD projects without proper approvals from the Finance department 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. 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. At the time of hiring, it pointed out, there were close to 50 per cent 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.
Time of India
09-06-2025
- Time of India
Year before retirement, traffic cop gets 4-year jail for bribery
New Delhi: A court sentenced a Delhi Traffic Police officer, who was just a year short of retirement, to four years in jail for taking a bribe of Rs 3,000 from a driver. The court of special judge Deepali Sharma observed, "Corruption is one of the most significant barriers in the growth of the country. The PC (Prevention of Corruption) Act was formulated to bring about transparency and honesty in public life and to combat corruption in govt departments. " The court was hearing a case against assistant sub-inspector Yatender Kumar, who was posted at a traffic police booth at Pul Mithai Chowk, at the time of the incident. He was convicted on June 4 under Prevention of Corruption Act for demanding and obtaining gratification other than legal remuneration—bribes—from a man in lieu of releasing his impounded vehicle in Sept 2022. Kumar requested the court for leniency, citing his age of 59 years and that he was the sole breadwinner of his family, as well as his clean antecedents. The judge noted that Kumar abused his position in public office for his personal gain. "Considering the ramifications of the offence and the victimisation of the public at large, and also considering the impact of the offence on society, the convict does not deserve any leniency from the court," the judge said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Good News: You May Be Richer Than You Think Undo Opposing Kumar's plea, the prosecution submitted before the court that corruption was a menace to society and needed to be eradicated to restore the faith of people in good governance, as it adversely affected the progress of the country and corroded the entire system. Hence, no leniency should be shown to the convict, the prosecution argued. TNN
