Rs 2,000 crore classrooms scam: New case filed against Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain

A fresh case has been registered against senior AAP leader and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, and former PWD Minister Satyendar Jain, in connection with alleged corruption in the construction of classrooms during their tenure. The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) has filed the FIR after permission was obtained under Section 17-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act from the competent authority.

According to the ACB, a massive scam amounting to ₹2,000 crore was unearthed in the construction of 12,748 classrooms and buildings under the AAP government in Delhi. "Significant deviations and cost escalations were observed, and not a single work was completed within the prescribed period," the agency said as per news agency ANI.

The ACB further alleged that the consultant and architect were appointed without following due procedures, and cost escalations were implemented through the same consultant. The irregularities, it said, were “highly exorbitant” and pointed to large-scale corruption in the project.

The development adds to the mounting legal troubles for Manish Sisodia, who is already under investigation for corruption and money laundering in the Delhi excise policy case.

Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on February 26, 2023, in connection with purported irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy 2021-22.

He was later arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a related money laundering case stemming from the CBI FIR on March 9, 2023. Sisodia had resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28, 2023, shortly after his arrest.

The former deputy chief minister spent 17 months in jail before being granted bail by the Supreme Court last year.