No direct link to kickbacks, 27-month delay in arrest: Why Satyendar Jain got bail

Granting bail to AAP leader and former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain in the alleged multi-crore sewage treatment plant (STP) tender scam, a Delhi court on Thursday noted that none of the corrigendums that changed the specifications of the work were approved by him.

Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh of Rouse Avenue Court said all the corrigendums – a formal correction for a mistake found in a contract or notice after it has been published or released – were approved and signed by former Delhi Jal Board (DJB) CEO Udit Prakash Rai, who is also an accused in the case.

“None of the corrigendums that changed the specification of the work was approved by the applicant. All were approved and signed by the CEO, Udit Prakash Rai (A-2),” the judge said. “…even if the statements on record and the materials gathered are taken into account, the applicant's complicity will have to be established at trial, and, if convicted, the applicant will be sentenced," it added.

The court said that a few decisions taken by Jain raised eyebrows, but the same couldn't be the reason to deny him bail. "A few decisions taken by the applicant… as evident from the contents of the notes… do raise eyebrows, and he may not be innocent, but by themselves they are not enough at this stage to deny bail.

The investigating agency ought to have first conducted a thorough investigation and gathered more evidence before rushing to arrest him," it added. The court noted that there were no WhatsApp chats, call records or SMS messages that, at this stage, connected Jain to the alleged kickbacks and hawala transactions involving the other accused.

“Prima facie, none of the WhatsApp chats links the applicant,” Judge Singh said, adding that there were no other phone records or SMS messages that might at present connect him to the alleged transactions. Further, the court questioned the “unexplained and extraordinary” 27-month gap between registration of the FIR and Jain’s arrest.

The FIR was registered on May 11, 2024, while Jain, Rai and four others were arrested on August 18 this year. The court said the delay indicated that the investigating agency had not considered Jain’s physical custody necessary for more than two years.

It also said the prosecution had failed to identify any new circumstance that warranted his arrest after such a prolonged gap. The court noted that the case largely rested on documentary and electronic evidence, including notes, files, technical proposals, minutes of meetings and bank transaction statements.

These materials had already been seized by the ACB, it said. The court also noted that the ACB had not sought police custody of Jain, indicating that there was no active requirement for custodial interrogation. Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023.

Professional Background Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University. Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories.

Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts. Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials. Recent notable articles In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations.

Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories. 1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man.

Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation.

The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey. 2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone.

It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation.

3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police.

Signature Style Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public. X (Twitter): @Nirbhaya99 ...

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