In fresh trouble for former Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Kumar Jain of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), President Droupadi Murmu has approved the prosecution sanction for initiating legal proceedings against him in the money laundering case, according to reports.

The prosecution sanction was requested by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs  under Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita which outlines the requirement of prior government sanction before a court can take cognizance of offenses committed by public servants.

Jain was arrested by the ED in a ₹4.8-crore money laundering case in May 2022 for allegedly using four companies linked to him to swindle money. He stepped out of jail on bail in October last year.

The ED case was based on the CBI’s FIR lodged against the former Delhi Minister in 2017 under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

In April 2022, the ED had provisionally attached immovable properties worth Rs 4.81 crore belonging to the companies linked to Jain and his aides.

Apart from the alleged corruption and money laundering cases filed against the former minister, Jain is also accused of threatening Tihar Jail staff during his stay.

Last month, Assistant Superintendent Jaidev and Deputy Superintendent Parveen Kumar, Tihar Jail, had complained against Jain in an 'incident report' on December 8, 2022, that when they went to serve a Show Cause Notice to Jain as per rule 1272 of DPR, 2018, he threatened them.

Jain has been blatantly intimidating these officers and others for their acts trying to prevent him from availing facilities of massage, lavish food and other VIP treatments, that came to the fore recently, said a jail official.

A jail official stated in his complaint that, "at that time he (undersigned), assumed that Satyendar Jain said this because of frustration, but in view of the latest incident report dated December 8, 2022, he has apprehension that Jain, being a minister may take adverse action against him and other jail officials, once he comes out of the jail."

“In view of the above, it is requested that Satyendar Jain may be transferred to some other jail at the earliest,” read the complaint.

In the recently held elections in Delhi, Satyendar Kumar Jain lost Shakur Basti seat to BJP’s Karnail Singh by a margin of 20,998 votes.

(With inputs from syndicated feed)