E-Paper
Cash-at-judge’s door: HC stays final order till May 2023
On August 14, 2008, Parkash Ram, munshi of lawyer, Sanjeev Bansal, delivered a packet at the house of justice Nirmaljit Kaur (retd), containing currency notes to the tune of ₹15 lakh. On being directed by justice Kaur, her peon opened it and found currency notes. The FIR was formally registered on August 16, naming Parkash, Sanjiv Bansal, among others.
The Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) has restrained the special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court, Chandigarh, from pronouncing the final judgment in a criminal case involving justice Nirmal Yadav (retd).
The HC acted on the plea from CBI, in which the agency had demanded that it be allowed to summon more prosecution witnesses. The trial is in the final stages.
“The trial may continue, however, final judgment shall not be pronounced till the next date,” the bench of justice Anoop Chitkara ordered while fixing the next date of hearing for May 24.
It was on August 14, 2008, Parkash Ram, munshi of lawyer, Sanjeev Bansal, delivered a packet at the house of justice Nirmaljit Kaur (retd), containing currency notes to the tune of ₹15 lakh. On being directed by justice Kaur, her peon opened it and found currency notes. The FIR was formally registered on August 16, naming Parkash, Sanjiv Bansal, among others.
The CBI took over the matter on the UT administrator’s request. It was later found that the money was meant to be delivered to justice Nirmal Yadav (retd). As Bansal was still on his way to Chandigarh to expedite delivery, he directed his wife to send the amount through munshi Parkash Ram. However, the munshi inadvertently delivered the packet at the house of justice Kaur.
Charges against Justice Yadav (retd) were framed in January 2014. Bansal died in 2017.
The CBI, in its fresh application before the high court, had submitted that during the trial, witnesses Rajinder Kumar, Mohinder Kaur, Rakesh Kumar, Mohan Joshi, Bansidhar, Vijay Singh, and Manju Jain, were dropped by the CBI special public prosecutor. However, out of these witnesses, Kaur, Kumar and Joshi had in their statements to police revealed relevant facts against the accused. Besides these, the CBI has given 15 more names, who are required to be examined by the prosecution. These witnesses’ evidence is essential for a “just” decision in this case and that CBI be allowed to examine them, the plea said.
