The Delhi government's Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) has summoned former ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain to appear in connection with a corruption case linked to the construction of 12,748 classrooms in government schools during the last Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government. The FIR was registered on April 30. As per ACB, Satyendar Jain has been called to appear on June 6, while Manish Sisodia has been summoned on June 9. This summons is in connection to the agency's ongoing probe into Rs 2,000 crore in irregularities.
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Sisodia had managed the finance and education departments, while Jain was responsible for health, industries, power, home affairs, urban development, and public works during the AAP’s government. Joint Commissioner Madhur Verma, who leads the ACB, explained the FIR followed findings from the Central Vigilance Commission’s (CVC) Chief Technical Examiner. He said, “The Chief Technical Examiner’s report of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) pointed out several anomalies in the project, and the report was kept under the carpet for about three years.”
The case was registered after permission under section 17-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act was granted. The main concern in the case is the massive construction cost increase. According to ACB officials, classrooms were to be built at Rs 1,200 per square foot but ended up costing nearly Rs 2,292 per square foot.
BJP leaders claim this surge indicates corruption. The complaint they filed in 2019 noted that the cost per classroom was Rs 24.86 lakh—far higher than the roughly Rs 5 lakh typically spent on similar projects in Delhi. The project involved 34 contractors, many allegedly linked to the AAP. BJP leaders Kapil Mishra, Harish Khurana, and Neelkant Bakshi accused the former government of financial mismanagement in three school zones.