CBI Files Chargesheet Against Ex-J&K Governor Satyapal Malik in Kiru Hydropower Project Case

Pratiksha Ghosh 

New Delhi/May 22 2025:The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has formally filed a chargesheet against former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satyapal Malik and five others in an alleged corruption case for involving Rs 2,200-crore Kiru Hydropower Project.

Officials stated that the chargesheet, submitted after an extensive three-year investigation, details alleged irregularities in awarding civil contracts for the project. 

Alongside Malik, those named in the chargesheet include senior officials and executives of Patel Engineering Limited, the company that was eventually granted the contract.

Malik, who served as J&K Governor between August 2018 and October 2019, had earlier claimed he was offered a Rs 300-crore bribe to approve certain files related to the project. 

Despite his accusations, he maintained innocence, saying the CBI searched his residence instead of investigating those he had accused of corruption. 

“They will find nothing except a few kurtas and pyjamas,” Malik said, therefore .calling the investigation a politically motivated attempt to silence him.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, Malik had inform the public that he was hospitalized and unable to respond to messages or calls.

The FIR alleges that despite a board decision in 2019 to re-tender the project using a transparent e-auction system, the contract was ultimately awarded to Patel Engineering in a process that bypassed that decision.