The President of India has approved the registration of an FIR against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain in the alleged Rs 1,300 crore classroom scam.
According to sources cited by PTI, President Droupadi Murmu sanctioned action against the leaders over irregularities in classroom construction in Delhi government schools. In 2022, Delhi’s vigilance directorate recommended a probe into the alleged scam and submitted a report to the chief secretary.
A Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) report dated February 17, 2020, highlighted “glaring irregularities” in the construction of over 2,400 classrooms by the Public Works Department (PWD).
Section 17A invoked
The prosecution approval was sought by the vigilance directorate under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PC Act).
The Section 17A mandates prior approval from a competent authority before a police officer can conduct any enquiry, inquiry, or investigation into an alleged offence committed by a public servant under the PC Act.
The MHA’s consent has now been sent to the Secretariat of Lt Governor V.K. Saxena, paving the way for questioning of both Sisodia and Jain – who both spent over 17 months each behind bars in connection with various corruption and money laundering cases linked to the excise policy and floating of shell companies.
Both former ministers are currently out on bail. The two AAP leaders lost the Assembly elections held last month.
After the BJP’s massive victory in the polls, Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta had promised to probe all cases of alleged corruption during the previous AAP government.
PWD tripled requirement, costs escalated by 90 pc without tender
In April 2015, then Chief Minister Kejriwal directed the construction of additional classrooms in Delhi government schools. The PWD was entrusted the task of constructing 2,405 classrooms in 193 schools.
It carried out a survey to find out the requirement of the classrooms and based on the survey, projected a total requirement of 7,180 equivalent classrooms (ECR) in 194 schools, almost three times the requirement of 2,405 classrooms, according to a report in NDTV.
The Vigilance wing received a complaint on August 25, 2019, regarding irregularities and cost overrun in the construction of classrooms. The construction cost escalated by up to 90 per cent in the name of “richer specifications” without issuing a tender.
The Delhi government sanctioned cost escalation of Rs 500 crore without tender.
According to a Vigilance investigation, tenders were floated for the works originally proposed and approved, but later, the awarded contract value varied from 17 per cent to 90 per cent on account of “richer specifications”.
(With inputs from PTI)
