Satyendar Jain Gets Bail in Delhi Jal Board Corruption Case

A Delhi court on Thursday granted bail to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Satyendar Jain in a corruption case linked to the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), in which he is accused along with five others by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).

Special Judge Digvinay Singh of the Rouse Avenue Courts granted Jain relief and directed his release on a bail bond of ₹2 lakh, along with two sureties of the same amount. The court’s detailed order is awaited.

The ACB had opposed Jain’s bail plea last week, alleging that he played a “vital role in manipulating” tenders for sewage treatment plant (STP) projects of the DJB to benefit a private company.

The agency made the submissions through Additional Public Prosecutor Manish Rawat.

In its 13-page written response, the ACB alleged that Jain, while serving as Delhi’s water minister, “connived” with senior DJB officials, including former CEO and co-accused Udit Prakash Rai, to alter technical recommendations, STP capacity and cost estimates before tailoring tender conditions to favour Euroteck Environmental Pvt. Ltd.

“Satyendra Jain played a vital role in the manipulation process and has criminal antecedent,” the ACB said, alleging that Jain and Rai arbitrarily modified tender proposals without adequate technical study or recommendations.

What Did the ACB Allege?

According to the anti-corruption agency, the alleged manipulation began with a meeting on August 31, 2021, attended by Jain, senior DJB officials and representatives of Euroteck.

The agency said it was decided at the meeting that a pilot run of Euroteck’s proposed technology would be conducted at the Coronation STP to assess its efficiency. It was also allegedly agreed that both suspended-media and fixed-media technologies would be permitted under the tender.

However, the ACB claimed that the proposed pilot run was never conducted and that both technologies were ultimately not allowed in the tender.

Instead, the tender process allegedly moved towards allowing only Integrated Fixed-Film Activated Sludge (IFAS) technology with fixed media, which the agency claimed was suited to Euroteck.

The allegations form part of the ACB’s opposition to Jain’s bail plea. The court has now granted Jain bail, while its detailed reasoning is awaited.