Chandigarh, Mar, 28
A CBI court in Chandigarh will on Saturday pronounce its judgment in the 2008 alleged “cash at judge’s door” case against Justice Nirmal Yadav, then a sitting judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The case against Justice Yadav had originated when a bag containing Rs 15 lakh was delivered at the residence of Justice Nirmaljit Kaur, another sitting judge of the high court. The prosecution had maintained that the bag was meant for Justice Yadav but due to the similarity in the names of the two judges, it mistakenly reached Justice Kaur’s residence. The Chandigarh Police had registered an FIR on August 16, 2008. Special CBI Judge Alka Malik today reserved the verdict after final arguments concluded on the additional evidence produced by the prosecution and the rebuttal by the defence counsels. The prosecution had sought permission from the high court to re-examine 22 witnesses, asserting that their testimonies were vital for the just adjudication of the case. However the high court allowed to re-examine only six of them. The prosecution had initially cited 84 witnesses in the case, of whom 69 were examined.
Public Prosecutor Narendra Singh argued that the prosecution had proved the case beyond a shadow of doubt. However, Vishal Garg Narwana, a counsel appearing on behalf of Justice Yadav, argued that the CBI falsely implicated her in the case. The CBI itself had earlier filed a closure report in the case. AS Chahal, another defence counsel, also denied the charges. The defence counsels claimed that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges.
Amrik Singh, a peon working at the residence of Justice Kaur, had told the police that one Parkash Ram came to Justice Kaur’s house with a plastic bag in his hand on August 13, 2008, and informed him that “papers had come from Delhi to be delivered to Justice Kaur”.
On being directed by Justice Kaur, he opened the bag, which was found containing currency notes. Parkash was detained and handed over to the police. The case was initially investigated by the police and then referred to the CBI on August 26, 2008, by the then UT Administrator.
The CBI court framed charges against the accused, including Justice Yadav, in 2014 after her plea for a stay on the trial proceedings was dismissed by the Supreme Court.
