Former special CBI judge Sudhir Parmar has been arrested in a money laundering case, Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials said on Thursday.
The ED is investigating the money laundering case linked to a corruption case registered by the Haryana anti-corruption bureau (ACB) against Parmar, an additional sessions judge-rank judicial officer who was also holding the charge of special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court before he was suspended.
The central agency had started PMLA investigations after registering an enforcement case information report (ECIR) on June 13. The ECIR was based on the April 17 first information report (FIR) registered by ACB under sections 7, 8, 11 and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code for offences relating to a public servant being bribed, a public servant taking undue advantage, criminal misconduct by a public servant and criminal conspiracy.
Parmar, suspended on April 27, after being booked on April 17, has been accused of alleged favouritism in his treatment of real estate developers Roop Bansal and his brother Basant Bansal of M3M and Lalit Goyal of IREO Group, according to the ACB’s FIR. Bansal brothers, Goyal and nephew of judicial officer, Ajay Parmar were also arrested by the ED earlier.
The ACB FIR, on whose basis the ED also registered the ECIR, was lodged on the basis of “reliable source information”, WhatsApp chats and audio recordings of the accused which allegedly disclosed instances of grave misconduct, abuse of official position and demand/acceptance of undue advantage from the accused in cases pending in Parmar’s court.
{{/usCountry}}The ACB FIR, on whose basis the ED also registered the ECIR, was lodged on the basis of “reliable source information”, WhatsApp chats and audio recordings of the accused which allegedly disclosed instances of grave misconduct, abuse of official position and demand/acceptance of undue advantage from the accused in cases pending in Parmar’s court.
{{/usCountry}}‘Chat and audio recordings fabricated to frame the judge’
However, an application filed on July 6 by Parmar’s nephew, Ajay, in the Panchkula PMLA court calling for transcript of the audio recording and WhatsApp chat, said that the ECIR was not based on facts. The application which was dismissed by the court on Wednesday said a false case on the basis of mobile phone conversation and chats was registered by ACB against Sudhir Parmar.
“The information, which is with the ACB, contains screenshots of WhatsApp chat between Sudhir Parmar and another person, through his own mobile phone as well as that of his nephew Ajay Parmar. In order to hype the case, the ACB alleged that ₹5-7 crore were demanded for helping the said owners of M3M in ED case. Allegations of giving favours to Lalit Goyal of IREO or any other person by Sudhir Parmar were false and based on presumptions. Lalit Goyal was produced before the court and remanded first to police custody first and then judicial custody. His bail application was also dismissed by Sudhir Parmar,’’ the application said.
ED, ACB didn’t care to verify chats, recordings: Nephew
Ajay Parmar’s application said the ACB registered the April 17 FIR on the basis of baseless allegations without even verifying the contents of the complaint.
“The ED is also relying upon the ACB FIR and the contents of the alleged screenshot of WhatsApp chat and some audio recordings. The screenshot of WhatsApp chat and the audio recordings, which are in possession of ACB are fabricated, tampered, edited and have been manipulated for the purpose of implication and defaming Sudhir Parmar in a false case,’’ the application said.