Cash-for-judge scam: Supreme Court panel summons CBI officer

Chandigarh, Oct 24 (IANS) A senior Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officer from Delhi was Friday summoned by the three-member Supreme Court committee probing the cash-for-judge scam that rocked the city in August.

The Deputy Inspector General (DIG) rank CBI officer was questioned by the committee at the UT guest house here. The committee is expected to wind up its work and leave Chandigarh later in the day.

The committee had Thursday questioned and recorded the statement of sitting Punjab and Haryana High Court Judge Nirmal Yadav, who went on leave Aug 22 after her name figured in the bribery scandal.

Justice Nirmal Yadav was quizzed for over four hours. Mediapersons were not allowed to enter the premises and there was no media briefing on the proceedings.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court was hit by the scam after a packet containing Rs.1.5 million in cash was delivered Aug 13 at the Sector 11 residence of newly appointed high court judge Nirmaljit Kaur. She complained to the police and a case was registered.

The police later arrested the (then) Haryana additional advocate general Sanjeev Bansal, a property dealer Rajiv Gupta and Delhi-based hotelier Ravinder Singh in this connection.

Bansal and Gupta told the police that the money was meant for another high court judge, Nirmal Yadav. They claimed that another packet containing Rs 1.5 million was separately delivered to Yadav at her Sector 24 official residence last month.

They had claimed that they delivered the money to the judges on instructions of Singh, who has denied in court that the money was his.

The committee set up by Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan comprises Allahabad High Court Chief Justice H.L. Gokhale, Jammu and Kashmir High Court Chief Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan and Justice M.B. Lokur of the Delhi High Court.

The committee had Wednesday questioned the main accused, Ravinder Singh. Singh is still in judicial custody while other accused, including Bansal, his assistant Parkash Ram, and property dealers Rajiv Gupta and Nirmal Singh are all out on bail.

The committee has already questioned Justice Nirmaljit Kaur and has recorded the statements of other prime accused including former law officer, Sanjeev Bansal, during its earlier visit to the city.

The committee's probe is separate from that of the CBI.