Today, On 13th March, President Droupadi Murmu approved a sanction for Delhi’s Anti-Corruption Bureau to investigate Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain. This allows authorities to proceed with a formal probe into alleged corruption charges. The decision marks a significant development in ongoing investigations against the two leaders. It reinforces the government’s stance on tackling corruption in public office.
President Droupadi Murmu granted approval to Delhi’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act to initiate a formal investigation into Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain regarding irregularities in the construction of school buildings by the Delhi government.
At the time, Sisodia served as the education minister, while Jain was the Public Works Department (PWD) minister.
Section 17A was added to the Prevention of Corruption Act by the Centre in July 2018 through an amendment, requiring police, the CBI, or any agency dealing with corruption offenses to obtain prior approval before conducting any “enquiry,” “inquiry,” or “investigation” related to corruption offenses.
A report by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) dated February 17, 2020, identified “glaring irregularities” in the construction of over 2,400 classrooms in Delhi government schools by the PWD.
According to a report, the Delhi government’s vigilance directorate recommended an investigation into the alleged scam in 2022 and submitted a report to the chief secretary.
On February 18, President Droupadi Murmu also sanctioned the prosecution of Jain in a money-laundering case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). This sanction was sought under Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.
The Ministry of Home Affairs requested the President’s approval to prosecute Jain based on an ED investigation that presented “adequate proof.”
The CBI filed a chargesheet in December 2018, alleging that Jain possessed disproportionate assets amounting to Rs.1.47 crore, which was approximately 217 percent more than his known sources of income from 2015 to 2017.
The ED previously stated that its investigation revealed that,
“During 2015-16, Satyendar Jain was a public servant, and four companies, beneficially owned and controlled by him, received accommodation entries (hawala) totaling Rs.4.81 crore from shell companies in exchange for cash transferred to Kolkata-based entry operators through the hawala route.”
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