Chandigarh:
Former Punjab and Haryana High Court judge Justice Nirmal Yadav has been acquitted in the high-profile ‘cash at judge door’ case, which was filed by the CBI 16 years ago.
“I have faith in the judiciary,” Justice Yadav told reporters outside the court today.
The case revolves around a cash packet containing Rs 15 lakh, allegedly meant for her, that was mistakenly delivered to the house of another judge, Justice Nirmaljit Kaur, in August 2008.
Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) judge Alka Malik in her order acquitted Justice Yadav today. The final arguments in the case were heard in the court in Chandigarh on Thursday.
The CBI filed the case against Justice Yadav, who had refuted the allegation.
“I have not committed any crime, and there is nothing incriminating found during the entire trial against me,” she said in her final argument.
On August 13, 2008, a clerk at Justice Kaur’s house in Chandigarh received a packet containing Rs 15 lakh cash. On discovering the mix-up, Justice Kaur immediately informed the then Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice and the Chandigarh Police.
A first information report (FIR) was subsequently filed on August 16, 2008.
The case took a significant turn 10 days later when the then administrator of the Union Territory, General SF Rodrigues (retired) transferred the case to the CBI, which filed a fresh FIR on August 28, 2008.
During investigation, the CBI found the cash was delivered by a clerk of former Haryana additional advocate general Sanjeev Bansal, who reportedly called Justice Kaur and said the money was meant for a certain “Nirmal Singh”, but was mistakenly delivered to her house.
In January 2009, the CBI sought permission to prosecute Justice Yadav, which was granted by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in November 2010. She challenged the move, but failed to get relief. The prosecution sanction was approved by the office of the President in March 2011, leading to the CBI filing a chargesheet the same month.
Throughout the trial, the prosecution listed 84 witnesses, of which 69 were examined. In February this year, the high court allowed the CBI to re-examine 10 witnesses within four weeks and directed the trial court to avoid unnecessary adjournments.
