SC dismisses former HC judge Nirmal Yadav's plea on framing charges

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed former Punjab and Haryana High Court judge Nirmal Yadav's plea for stay on proceedings of trial court, which is set to frame charges against her in cash-at-judge's door scam, and pulled her up for adopting delaying tactics.

A bench headed by Justice H L Dattu ticked off the former judge for filing multiple petitions in various courts to delay the trial court proceedings in the 2008 case. Yadav's counsel submitted that it is a case of no evidence and the trial court should be restrained from framing charges against her but the apex court was not satisfied and dismissed the plea.

Yadav had approached the apex court challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court's November 22, 2013 order, dismissing her plea against trial court's proceedings. Yadav had moved the high court against the orders of the special CBI judge, Chandigarh, who had given the go-ahead for her prosecution in the alleged corruption case.

On July 31, 2013, the trial court had ordered framing of charges against Yadav. The high court was rocked by the controversy after a sum of Rs 15 lakh was delivered at the residence of Justice Nirmaljit Kaur, another judge of the high court, on August 13, 2008, following which she reported the matter to Chandigarh Police.

The money, allegedly meant for Yadav, was said to have been delivered to Kaur due to confusion over their names. Yadav, in her plea, had denied the allegation that the money was meant for her. The charge sheet was filed against her by CBI in the special court on March 4, 2011, a day after Yadav, then posted as a judge of the Uttarakhand High Court, retired.

An FIR was registered against Yadav on August 13, 2008, under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act on a complaint of a peon of Justice Kaur. Initially, the case was investigated by the Chandigarh Police and it was subsequently transferred to CBI by the then Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh.

Earlier, CBI had filed closure report in the case on the grounds that the prosecution sanction had been declined, but the Special CBI Judge had refused to accept the report.

On being approached again by CBI, the President had granted sanction for prosecution on March 1, 2011. On August 27, 2011, Yadav had appeared for the first time before the CBI Special Court hearing the case and was granted bail after furnishing a bond of Rs 25,000.

CBI had on March 4, 2011 filed a charge sheet against Yadav and four others for alleged criminal conspiracy and corruption. The other accused were advocate Sanjeev Bansal, Delhi-based hotelier Ravinder Singh Bhasin, Chandigarh-based businessman Rajiv Gupta and Nirmal Singh.