CBI arrests senior judge of Delhi’s Tis Hazari court in bribery case

The CBI has arrested a senior judge of Tis Hazari court while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 4 lakh from a lawyer.

The CBI has arrested a senior civil judge along with her husband and a lawyer on charges of demanding and receiving Rs 5-lakh bribe in a property case, an agency officer said on Thursday.

A CBI source said Rachna Tiwari Lakhanpal, civil judge, Tis Hazari court was arrested while allegedly accepting bribe of Rs 4 lakh from an advocate, who was appointed as local commissioner by her in a case she was adjudicating. (AFP File Photo)

Rachna Tiwari Lakhanpal, senior civil judge at the Tis Hazari district courts here, her husband Alok Lakhanpal and lawyer Vishal Mehan were arrested on Wednesday night from different locations in the city.

A Central Bureau of Investigation team first conducted a raid and arrested Mehan while he was allegedly accepting the money from the complainant on behalf of Rachna Lakhanpal on the pretext of getting a court decision in his favour in a disputed property case.

During his questioning, Mehan allegedly said the money was meant to be handed over to the judicial officer.

“Subsequently, Mehan handed over the bribe money to Rachna at her residence. She kept Rs 4 lakh and gave back Rs 1 lakh to him just before a CBI team arrested her,” the officer said.

“Rachna appointed the lawyer as local commissioner for conducting an inspection of a disputed property and submitting his report. The lawyer allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 2 lakh from the complainant for himself and Rs 20 lakh for Rachna,” the CBI officer said.

The deal was finalised at Rs 5 lakh and Mehan assured the complainant of court decision in his favour, he said.

Rachna’s husband was arrested on charge of playing a crucial role in the bribery case.

“We have seized Rs 94 lakh, two locker keys and other incriminating material along with some documents from Rachna’s house,” the CBI officer said.