Cash at judge's door: Chandigarh court acquits Justice Nirmal Yadav in 2008 corruption case

A Chandigarh court on Saturday acquitted Justice Nirmal Yadav, a former judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court, in a corruption case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2008 against her and others [Central Bureau of Investigation v Sanjiv Bansal & Ors]..Special Court of Additional Sessions Judge Alka Malik pronounced the decision today. The other accused – Ravinder Singh Bhasin, Rajiv Gupta and Nirmal Singh were also acquitted."It is held that prosecution has miserably failed to bring home the guilt to the accused persons and consequently, accused namely Ravinder Bhasin (A-2), Rajeev Gupta (A-3), Nirmal Singh (A-4) and Ms. Nirmal Yadav (A-5), are hereby acquitted of the charges framed against them for commission of offences punishable under Section 11 of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, 120-B of Indian Penal Code read with Section 12 of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and 120-B read with Sections 193, 192, 196, 199 and 200 of Indian Penal Code," the Court said..The case against Justice Yadav, then a sitting High Court judge and former judicial officer, originated in August 2008 when a bag containing ₹15 lakh was delivered at the residence of Justice Nirmaljit Kaur, another sitting judge of the High Court. The matter was reported by Justice Kaur's peon to the Chandigarh Police which registered a First Information Report (FIR). The case was later transferred to the CBI on orders of General (retd) SF Rodrigues, then Governor of Punjab and Administrator, Union Territory of Chandigarh. The CBI had initially filed a closure report in the case which was rejected. It then filed a charge sheet against the accused in 2011.As per the prosecution, the money delivered by a clerk of former Haryana Additional Advocate General Sanjeev Bansal, was meant for Justice Yadav but due to the similarity in the names of the two judges, it mistakenly reached Justice Kaur's residence. .In 2010, Justice Yadav was transferred to Uttarakhand High Court, where she retired a year later. In 2014, the Special Court framed charges against five accused. One of the main accused, Bansal died in December 2016 at Max Hospital, Mohali. Consequently, the proceedings against him were dropped in January 2017..In a statement given to the trial court through video conference, Justice Kaur in 2016 recalled the incident that had taken place on August 13, 2008, just 33 days after her elevation to the High Court. "I vividly remember that I was munching an apple and my father was sitting with a little drink, as he did every day, when my Peon Amrik walked in and said in Punjabi: “Madam, Delhi ton kaagaz aye nein”. I said “Khol ke dekh”. While he was struggling to open the tape wrapped around the packet, I felt that they were not papers and I immediately said: “Jaldi Khol”. In the process, he tore open the packet and I saw that they were currency notes. So, without wasting a second, I said : “Pakro, kaun laike aya hain”," she said in her statement. Bansal would call Justice Kaur within minutes to state that the money had mistakenly reached her residence and was actually meant for one Nirmal Singh. However, Justice Kaur had informed the police by then. She then also spoke to the High Court Chief Justice TS Thakur, who had taken over from Justice JS Khehar just two days back, and Justice Mehtab Singh Gill, another judge of the High Court. .While he was struggling to open the tape wrapped around the packet, I felt that they were not papers and I immediately said: “Jaldi Khol”. In the process, he tore open the packet and I saw that they were currency notes. So, without wasting a second, I said : “Pakro, kaun laike aya hain”Justice Kaur recalls incident of delivery of cash at her residence.The prosecution cited 84 witnesses but only 69 were examined during the trial. However, the Punjab and Haryana High Court in February this year permitted the CBI examine to re-examine 12 witnesses. The also Court directed the CBI to examine the witnesses within four weeks and further asked the trial court to ensure that no unnecessary adjournments are granted. The order was passed when the trial was on the verge of competition. The trial court then ordered closure of prosecution evidence on March 17. The process of recording the statements of accused concluded on March 26 and final arguments were heard on March 27..Senior Advocate SK Garg Narwana and advocate VG Narwana represented Justice Nirmal Yadav. Advocates AS Chahal, BS Riar and Hitesh Puri represented other accused..[Read Judgment]