New Delhi: The Supreme Court Monday refused to quash criminal proceeding against former Punjab and Haryana High Court judge Nirmal Yadav in the 2008 cash-at-judge`s door scam.
A bench of justices HL Dattu and CK Prasad, however, allowed Yadav to raise all her objections before the trial court and asked the lower court to decide the case against her without being influenced by the High Court`s verdict allowing her criminal prosecution.
Senior advocate KTS Tulsi, appearing for the former judge, said she was not provided with the material on the basis of which the High Court had decided the case against her.
Yadav has moved the apex court challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court`s order dismissing her plea contesting grant of sanction for her prosecution in the case.
In her petition in the High Court, Yadav had sought quashing of the charge sheet filed by CBI against her alleging that Chief Justice S H Kapadia had no power to recommend sanction to prosecute her as it was denied by the previous CJI KG Balakrishnan.
The High Court, while dismissing her plea on November 14 last year, had said that former CJI Balakrishnan had not passed any order declining the prosecution sanction and records confirmed that Justice Kapadia had examined the question of sanction against her for the first time.
The Punjab and Haryana 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 has denied the allegation that the money was meant for her.
The High Court had also rejected Yadav`s plea, saying she cannot claim any special right merely because she had occupied the high constitutional office.
The charge sheet was filed against her by the CBI in the Special Court on March 4 last year, a day after Yadav, then posted as Judge of the Uttrakhand 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 Chandigarh Police and was subsequently transferred to CBI by the then Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh.
Earlier, the CBI had filed closure report in the case on the ground that prosecution sanction has been declined, but the special CBI Judge had refused to accept the report.
On being approached again by the CBI, the President had granted sanction for prosecution on March 1 last year.
On August 27 last, 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.
The CBI had on March 4 filed a charge sheet against Yadav and four others for alleged criminal conspiracy and corruption.
The others include advocate Sanjeev Bansal, Delhi based hotelier Ravinder Singh Bhasin, Chandigarh-based businessman Rajiv Gupta and Nirmal Singh.
PTI
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.