Delhi’s Rouse Avenue court on Thursday granted bail to former minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Satyendar Jain in the alleged Delhi Jal Board (DJB) Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) tender scam case and directed him to furnish a personal bail bond of Rs 2 lakh along with two sureties.

On August 25, Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh had heard arguments on Jain’s bail application. Jain was present during the proceedings.

He was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) in connection with the alleged scam.

During arguments on the bail plea, senior advocate N Hariharan, appearing along with Advocate Vivek Jain, had submitted that Jain was arrested by the ACB 27 months after registration of the FIR in May 2024.

The defence argued that there was no necessity for his arrest as Jain had cooperated with the investigation.

Hariharan also submitted that the ACB had registered the FIR on the basis of information provided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), despite there being no link of proceeds of crime connected to Jain in the money laundering case, according to the defence.

The defence further submitted that the augmentation of the Rohini STP from 15 million gallons per day (MGD) to 25 MGD was based on the recommendation of a technical committee, while the peak capacity was 30 MGD.

Hariharan argued that the matter concerned policy decision-making and that courts were not expected to enter the area of policy matters.

The defence also submitted that Jain was not a flight risk and that his presence could be ensured by imposing appropriate conditions. It also pointed out that no accused had been arrested in the ED case.

Opposing the bail plea, ACB Public Prosecutor Manish Rawat submitted that the investigation was at an initial stage.

The prosecution also alleged that Jain had been non-cooperative during the investigation and submitted that there was evidence against the accused.

Hariharan, in response, argued that the investigation could not be considered to be at an initial stage as it had been ongoing since May 2024.

He further submitted that documents being referred to by the ACB had been received from the ED. The defence also argued that the case did not attract the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The ACB has alleged that the technical proposal for augmentation of the Rohini STP from 15 MGD to 25 MGD was altered by the then minister, who approved an enhancement to 30 MGD without any technical recommendation or feasibility study.

The agency also alleged that the Rohini and Narela STPs were included in the project while the Okhla Phase-V STP was excluded, resulting in an estimated cost escalation of approximately Rs 123 crore.

The ACB described these decisions as arbitrary and alleged that they were taken without adequate technical justification.

According to the ACB, the investigation also found that tender specifications were manipulated to favour M/s Eurotech.

The agency alleged that the changes enabled the company to become the sole technology supplier of IFAS Technology with Fixed Media under the STP tender.

The ACB further alleged a nexus between Rajkumar Kurra, Nagendra Yadav and concerned DJB officials to secure undue benefit for M/s Eurotech through manipulation of tender conditions.

It claimed that Jain’s role and connivance in the alleged manipulation emerged during the investigation.

The agency also alleged that Vinod Chauhan acted as a middleman in facilitating tender-related work for a specific technology provider in return for funds allegedly received from the company.

According to the ACB, funds were routed to M/s Srijanhar Enterprises, a proprietorship firm of Pankaj Verma, who is Chauhan’s nephew.

The ACB alleged that Chauhan received Rs 81 lakh from M/s Dhanvine Engineering, which it claimed was actually a kickback from M/s Eurotech.

The agency further alleged that Eurotech entered into an agreement with Srijanhar Enterprises on December 22, 2021, appointing it as an authorised marketing agent for its products.

Under the agreement, Srijanhar Enterprises was entitled to a commission of three per cent of the total payments received by Eurotech from DJB tender works, according to the ACB.

The agency alleged that the firm did not perform any work under the agreement and claimed that the arrangement was a facade allegedly created to receive commission or bribes from Eurotech.

The ACB has also alleged that an analysis of Nagendra Yadav’s mobile phone showed that on May 7, 2022, Chauhan shared details of a hawala operator with him through two WhatsApp messages.

Yadav allegedly forwarded the messages to Rajkumar Kurra on the same day.

Jain and five other accused persons had been arrested in the alleged Delhi Jal Board STP tender scam and were in judicial custody till September 3.