A special court in Delhi has granted bail to former AAP minister Satyendar Jain in a corruption case regarding alleged irregularities in Delhi Jal Board sewage treatment plant tenders. The Rouse Avenue court’s anti-corruption bench set the bail at a bond of two lakh rupees with matching sureties. Jain was originally arrested in mid-August by the Anti-Corruption Branch alongside a former Delhi Jal Board chief executive, an IAS officer, and others. Investigators have alleged criminal conspiracy and large-scale manipulation of tender conditions in contracts to upgrade sewage treatment infrastructure, following an FIR registered by Delhi’s Directorate of Vigilance in mid-2024.
Jain had already spent an extended period in custody during earlier money-laundering proceedings connected to the broader set of allegations against the party’s Delhi leadership. Following the court’s order, AAP figures framed his release as vindication and evidence that the corruption case is politically motivated. Senior AAP leaders described the prosecution as part of a campaign by the BJP-led central government to target opposition politicians using investigative agencies, comparing it to earlier troubles in Punjab. The party’s national convenor also publicly weighed in on the order, while the BJP has not issued an extensive rebuttal to the criticism.
This case is part of a wider set of ongoing corruption probes into Delhi’s civic infrastructure contracts that have entangled multiple former AAP-era officials.