The Rouse Avenue Court has issued production warrants for Udit Prakash Rai, former Chief Executive Officer of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), and Nagendra Yadav, ordering their appearance before the court on August 29. Both individuals are currently in judicial custody.
They were arrested by the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) in connection with the alleged DJB Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) tender scam. Former Delhi Minister Satyender Jain has also been detained in relation to the case.
Duty Judge Neha Paliwal Sharma authorised the warrants following an application submitted by the ACB. Meanwhile, Pankaj Verma, proprietor of Srijanhar Enterprises and another accused in the matter, has been remanded to judicial custody until September 3. He was produced before the court after two days of police custody.
Additional Public Prosecutor Manish Rawat, representing the ACB, sought the production warrant and judicial custody for Verma. Earlier, on August 25, the court granted the ACB two days of police custody for Verma's interrogation, citing the necessity for a fair and thorough investigation to uncover further details of the alleged conspiracy and other involved individuals.
The First Information Report (FIR) originated from a vigilance reference dated May 10, 2024, by the Directorate of Vigilance, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD). It alleged a corruption scandal involving several hundred crores of rupees related to the tendering process and awarding of contracts for the augmentation and upgradation of ten STPs across Delhi.
These ten STPs were grouped into four packages, with a total tender value of approximately Rs 1,943 crores. It is alleged that certain DJB public servants conspired with private contractors, technology providers and intermediaries to manipulate tender conditions, inflate cost estimates, and lower environmental standards in order to award contracts to a select cartel. This allegedly caused wrongful loss to the public exchequer and wrongful gains to private entities.
During the hearing concerning Verma's custody, Additional Public Prosecutor Rawat stated that detailed interrogation was essential to examine the purpose behind incorporating Srijanhar Enterprises; the agreement between Srijanhar and Eurotech regarding marketed products; and the claim of a loan by Srijanhar to Dhanvine Engineering.
The prosecutor also highlighted the need to investigate the utilisation of Rs 1.22 crores received by Dhanvine from Eurotech via Srijanhar; the transfer of Rs 81 lakhs to Vinod Chauhan; and the transfer of Rs 43 lakhs from Dhanvine to Nagendra Yadav's firm.
The ACB asserted that custodial interrogation was necessary to ascertain the actual financial loss to the government, identify involved officials, and gather information about Srijanhar's supplied products and services.
The defence counsel opposed the custody application, arguing that Verma was not individually named in the original FIR, nor was his firm. They contended that Srijanhar Enterprises had a valid agreement with Eurotech to provide supervision services and that Verma personally carried out on-site technical supervision at the STP locations.
The defence further submitted that business expenditures such as salaries and labour payments exceeded the amount alleged to have been misappropriated. They also stated that the Rs 1.22 crore transfer to Dhanvine was a legitimate, interest-free, unsecured director’s loan disclosed in Dhanvine's financial statements, and used for routine business purposes.