New Delhi, 19 August (H.S.): The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) on Wednesday produced former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain and five other accused before the Rouse Avenue Court and sought 14 days of custody for all six accused. Jain and the other accused were arrested on August 18.

Appearing for Satyendar Jain, senior advocate Maninder Singh challenged the legality of his arrest. He argued that Jain was not informed of the grounds for his arrest at the time of being taken into custody, which, he said, was contrary to the directions issued by the Supreme Court.

The other accused arrested by the ACB are former Delhi Jal Board CEO Udit Prakash Rai, former Delhi Jal Board contractual consultant Ankit Srivastava, Nagendra Yadav, proprietor of M/s AN Enterprises, Raja Kumar Kurra, proprietor of M/s Eurotech Environment Pvt. Ltd., and Pankaj Verma, proprietor of M/s Srijanhar.

The accused were arrested in connection with an FIR registered by the ACB on May 11, 2024, under Sections 7, 7A, 9 and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, along with Sections 42, 409, 418 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code.

The ACB has alleged that the tender conditions were deliberately framed to favour a particular company.

Jain had been released from Tihar Jail in October 2024 in connection with a money laundering case. He had spent 872 days in custody in that case after being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on May 30, 2022. A trial court granted him bail on October 18, 2024.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar