In a fresh setback for former Delhi ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, who are already facing accusations of misconduct related to the Education and PWD departments, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has granted approval to proceed with corruption cases against them.
Interestingly, the Vigilance Department of the Delhi government had also moved for prosecution sanction in 2021, which has been approved by the MHA.
The sanction was sought under Section 17A of the PC Act, according to which prior approval from a competent authority must be taken by law enforcement officials before launching any investigation against a public servant under the act.
Upon the approval of MHA, the case has been sent to the office of Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena, paving the way for inquiry into both Jain and Sisodia. The two former ministers had each spent more than 17 months in jail on charges of corruption and money laundering, including those related to the excise policy and the setting up of shell companies.
Both the leaders are currently out on bail. They lost the recent Assembly elections held in last month. After the BJP's landslide victory in the elections, the newly elected Chief Minister of Delhi Rekha Gupta promised to probe all cases of alleged corruption against the AAP-led government that had preceded her.
In 2020, the Vigilance Department had referred to "glaring irregularities" in the Arvind Kejriwal government's construction of 2,405 classrooms in 193 government schools. The directorate had recommended that accountability be fixed for officials of the Education Department and PWD who were accused of financial mismanagement worth around ₹1,300 crore.
Besides violating several procedural rules and regulatory standards, the Vigilance Department charged authorities with rigging the tendering process. In April 2015, then-Chief Minister Kejriwal had ordered the construction of more classrooms in Delhi government schools, assigning the task to the Public Works Department (PWD).
A survey was carried out to gauge the real requirement of extra classrooms, and according to its findings, the need was estimated at 7,180 equivalent classrooms (ECR) in 194 schools—nearly three times the originally planned 2,405 classrooms, according to an NDTV report.
On 25th August 2019, a complaint of cost escalation and arbitrariness during the construction phase was made against the Vigilance wing. The cost estimate of the project increased by up to 90% on the pretext of "richer specifications" without putting the tender process in motion.
The Delhi government sanctioned a cost overrun of ₹500 crore without adhering to tendering procedures. The Vigilance investigation found that tenders were floated for the sanctioned work in the first place, but the final contract amount increased between 17% and 90% on account of claimed changes termed as "richer specifications."
Read also| Will continue as CM for another five years, says Siddaramaiah
