The Delhi authorities’s Anti-Corruption Department (ACB) has registered a felony case towards Aam Aadmi Celebration (AAP) leaders and former ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain over alleged irregularities within the building of 12,748 school rooms in Delhi authorities colleges, officers stated on Wednesday.
AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Satyendra Jain. (PTI)
The AAP denied the allegations, calling the probe towards its leaders “theatrics” by the Bharatiya Janata Celebration (BJP).
Based on ACB, the case entails contracts value over ₹2,800 crore for building of 12,748 school rooms in authorities colleges throughout the AAP’s tenure, wherein consultants and designers have been allegedly appointed with out due process. The inquiry was launched after complaints by BJP spokesperson Harish Khurana, MLA Kapil Mishra, and the social gathering’s then media head Neelkanth Bakshi.
“This case involves inflated costs, procedural violations, and cost escalations designed to benefit contractors linked to the party. Each classroom was built at an average cost of ₹24.86 lakh—nearly five times the market rate of ₹5 lakh,” stated ACB chief and joint commissioner of police Madhur Verma.
Verma stated the lecture rooms have been constructed as semi-permanent constructions (SPS) with a 30-year lifespan, however at prices similar to bolstered concrete buildings lasting 75 years. No monetary justification was offered for selecting SPS, he stated.
The ACB additionally discovered that consultants and designers have been appointed with out tenders and oversaw price escalations that bypassed procurement norms and Central Vigilance Fee (CVC) pointers. Verma stated that the contracts initially value ₹860 crore escalated to ₹2,892 crore. Of this, ₹205 crore was attributed to “richer specifications”—a time period for obscure upgrades missing monetary transparency.
A CVC report issued in February 2020 however hid for almost three years flagged main procurement violations and unjustified modifications made after tenders have been awarded.
“The cost per square foot for SPS classrooms was ₹2,292—comparable to permanent model schools, nullifying the rationale for using SPS,” Verma stated. Contracts have been awarded to 34 corporations, most of which appeared to have had hyperlinks to the AAP.
In 5 colleges, work value ₹42.5 crore was carried out with out contemporary tenders.
Data present that in 2015-16, the expenditure finance committee had directed the venture be accomplished by June 2016 with out price overruns. Nevertheless, not a single classroom was constructed on time, and vital deviations adopted.
“After receiving approval under Section 17-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, we’ve registered FIR No. 31/2025 under Section 13(1) of the Act and IPC Sections 409 and 120-B. A full investigation is underway to fix responsibility across the political and bureaucratic spectrum,” Verma stated.
The motion comes on the heels of a number of AAP leaders, together with former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Sisodia already going through authorized challenges. Sisodia was arrested in February 2023 in connection in a case associated to the now-scrapped excise coverage. Celebration chief Naresh Balyan was arrested in November 2024 for extortion, whereas Jain additionally confronted allegations on cash laundering prices wherein he was arrested and is presently out on bail.
The BJP demanded the ACB probe additionally cowl former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva alleged that the rip-off unfolded below the guise of schooling reform. “As soon as Kejriwal came to power in 2015, he began laying the foundation for corruption. The government allocated ₹2,892 crore to build 12,748 classrooms—meaning each cost around ₹24.86 lakh. But CPWD estimates put it at ₹5 lakh per classroom,” he stated.
The AAP, in an announcement, stated the FIR was a part of the BJP’s marketing campaign to silence opposition leaders. “One day it’s a case, the next day a raid. As soon as Durgesh Pathak was made Gujarat sah-prabhari, an FIR was filed against him. Sisodia and Jain are targeted the moment they get new roles. This is a strategy to paralyse us,” the assertion stated.
The Congress stated the FIR validated corruption prices it had raised years in the past. Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav referred to as the classroom venture “as big a scam as the liquor policy case.” “The Delhi Congress had consistently flagged massive corruption in classroom construction. The FIR confirms that. Justice will only be served when those who misused public money are given the harshest punishment,” he stated.
With inputs from Alok KN Mishra and Snehil Sinha