Kochi: A special CBI court in Chandigarh has acquitted a retired Justice Nirmal Yadav of Punjab and Haryana High Court and three others in a 17-year-old alleged corruption case in 2008, media reports said.
Another accused died during the trial of the case, media reports said.
The case pertained to one Parkash Ram calling on Justice Nirmaljit Kaur of the High Court at her residence to deliver a packet on August 13, 2008. When Justice Nirmaljit Kaur asked him to open the packet, currency notes of Rs 15 lakh were found inside it. Justice Kaur informed the police who detained the messenger of the packet and an FIR was registered against him, the reports said.
The allegation was that the money was for Justice Nirmal Yadav of the Punjab and Haryana High Court but was taken to the residence of Justice Kaur whose name almost matched with Justice Nirmal Yadav.
Later, the case was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the directions of then UT administrator S F Rodrigues.
It was found that the money was sent by Sanjeev Bansal, former Additional Advocate General of Haryana.
The CBI filed a charge-sheet against Justice Nirmal Yadav on March 4, 2011 when she was a judge in the Uttarakhand High Court.
Charges were also framed against lawyer Sanjiv Bansal (who got the money delivered), businessman Ravinder Singh (who sent the amount of Rs 15 lakh), Rajiv Gupta business partner of Sanjiv Bansal and Parkash Ram who delivered the packet on August 14, 2008 and one Nirmal Singh.
Justice Yadav was transferred in November 2009. The CBI argued that Justice Yadav had committed an offence punishable under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The court ordered framing of charges against Bansal, Gupta and Singh under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The counsel representing retired Justice Nirmal Yadav, said, “A false narrative was set that money was sent as a bribe, but there was nothing like that and the Court acquitted everyone today”, the reports said.
Court acquits HC Judge
