Former HC Judge Nirmal Yadav Acquitted In 17-Year-Old Cash-At-Door Case
The high-profile case, which rocked the judiciary 17 years ago, revolves around a cash packet containing Rs 15 lakh, that was allegedly wrongly delivered at the residence of Justice Nirmaljit Kaur.
Former Punjab and Haryana High Court judge (Retd) Nirmal Yadav has been acquitted in 2008 ‘cash-at-judge’s door’ case by a special CBI court in Chandigarh on Saturday.
The high-profile case, which rocked the judiciary 17 years ago, revolves around a cash packet containing Rs 15 lakh, that was allegedly wrongly delivered at the residence of Justice Nirmaljit Kaur, another sitting high court judge, on August 13, 2008. It was alleged that the cash was meant for Justice Yadav as a bribe to influence a property deal.
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Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) judge Alka Malik in her order acquitted Justice Yadav along with four others, viz., Sanjiv Bansal, former Additional Advocate General, Haryana, Delhi-based hotelier Ravinder Singh, city-based businessman Rajiv Gupta and another person. Bansal passed away in February 2017.
Defence counsel Vishal Garg Narwana said that the court has acquitted former Justice Yadav and four others. There were a total five accused in the case, one of whom died during the trial. "Today the court has passed the judgement in the matter. Justice (Retd) Nirmal Yadav has been acquitted. False allegations have been levelled against her," Narwana said as quoted by news agency PTI.
The final arguments in the case were heard in the court in Chandigarh on Thursday while the pronouncement was posted for March 29.
The CBI filed the case against Justice Yadav, who had refuted the allegation.
“I have faith in the judiciary. I have not committed any crime, and there is nothing incriminating found during the entire trial against me," she had said.
The verdict comes amid the raging row over the discovery of "four to five semi-burnt sacks of Indian currency notes" at the Lutyens residence of Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma following a fire incident on March 14.
A three-member in-house committee formed by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna is investigating the matter. Justice Varma has denied any knowledge of the cash discovered.
What Was The Case?
On August 13, 2008, a clerk at Justice Kaur’s house in Chandigarh received a packet containing Rs 15 lakh cash. The packet was allegedly meant for Justice Yadav and was delivered at the other judge’s residence over a mistaken identity due to their similar-sounding names.
Justice Kaur immediately informed the then Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice.
The matter was reported to the Chandigarh Police, following which an FIR was registered in the matter. However, the case was later transferred to the CBI.
After her name cropped up in case, Justice Yadav was transferred to the Uttarakhand High Court. In December 2009, the CBI filed a closure report, which was rejected by the CBI court in March 2010 and ordered an reinvestigation.
The CBI in March 2011 charge-sheeted Justice Nirmal Yadav, who was then a judge in the Uttarakhand High Court, on the day of her retirement.
In January 2014, the special CBI court framed charges against Justice Yadav after the Supreme Court dismissed her plea for stay on proceedings of the trial court. The CBI had held that Justice Yadav had committed an offence punishable under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
During the course of trial, as many as 69 of 84 witnesses were examined by the prosecution. In February this year, the high court allowed the CBI to re-examine 10 witnesses within four weeks and directed the trial court to avoid unnecessary adjournments.
(With inputs from PTI)
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