Overview

• The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a chargesheet against former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik and six others, alleging corruption in the 2019 tender process for the Kiru Hydroelectric Power Project.
• The chargesheet follows a three-year investigation into claims of irregularities, including the reversal of a board decision to re-tender the ₹2,200-crore project via e-auction, ultimately awarding it to Patel Engineering Ltd.
• Malik, who served as J&K governor from August 2018 to October 2019, had publicly claimed he was offered a ₹300-crore bribe to clear project-related files, an allegation that prompted the investigation.
• The accused include senior officials of Chenab Valley Power Projects Pvt Ltd, Malik's two private secretaries, and Patel Engineering's managing director, with charges invoking pre-Article 370 J&K anti-corruption laws.
• Malik, currently hospitalized and unable to speak, has denied wrongdoing, describing the charges as intimidation and asserting that prior searches of his properties yielded no evidence.