New Delhi, Aug 4 (IANS) In a big relief for former Delhi Minister and AAP leader Satyendar Jain, a Delhi court on Monday accepted a closure report filed by the CBI in a case related to the allegedly irregular hiring of consultants in the PWD department in 2018.

Special CBI Judge Dig Vinay Singh took the closure report on record, saying, “Further proceedings would serve no useful purpose.”

The court, however, allowed liberty to the federal probe agency to investigate the matter further in the event of receiving any fresh material.

“In the facts and circumstances mentioned above, in the absence of any evidence and sanction, the present final report for closure of the FIR is accepted,” the court said.

The Special Judge took the view while noting that despite a long probe, no incriminating proof was found to support corruption charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 or any other penal provision.

In its closure report, the CBI admitted that no prosecutable evidence was found and made two critical observations: No evidence was found against Jain, and no loss was caused to the Delhi government by the decisions taken in the recruitment matter.

The complaint, filed by the Delhi government’s Directorate of Vigilance, revolved around the allegedly irregular hiring of a creative team of consultants by the PWD officials and Jain.

After the closure report, the court said that not all decisions taken in an official capacity, even if they are not strictly within the rules, need to be scrutinised through the lens of corruption.

“There must be some material to justify applying the provisions of the POC Act, 1988,” the court said, adding that there was no evidence to even invoke provisions related to criminal conspiracy.

“The law clearly states that suspicion cannot replace proof. It is also worth noting that, even to charge someone, mere suspicion is not enough; at least strong suspicion would be necessary to proceed,” the court said.

The primary allegation in the complaint was that Jain approved the hiring of a 17-member team of consultants for the PWD via outsourcing, which allegedly bypassed standard government recruitment procedures.

The CBI claimed that there were irregularities in the recruitment process that could amount to criminal conspiracy and corruption, such as modifying eligibility conditions in the Notice Inviting Tender (NIT) for a private company and making unauthorised budget allocations.

The decision comes as a big relief for Jain, who is out on bail and facing several cases related to corruption and money laundering linked to disproportionate assets, classroom construction, CCTV installation and upgradation of sewage treatment plant.

–IANS

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