Chandigarh, May 27: Punjab and Haryana High Court today issued a notice to the CBI on the anticipatory bail plea of absconding judicial magistrate S S Bhardwaj allegedly involved in a graft case. Justice Virender Singh issued the notice to CBI for May 29 on Bhardwaj's bail plea, which was taken up today. Special CBI Judge Balbeer Singh had last week dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of Bhardwaj who was posted here as judicial magistrate first class.

Bhardwaj had allegedly managed to give a slip to the CBI who had laid a trap at his residence here on May 9 on the complaint of one G S Samra that he (Bhardwaj) had demanded Rs 11 lakh on behalf of Jalandhar district and sessions Judge R M Gupta. The complainant had allegedly paid the first instalment of Rs seven lakh to Bhardwaj, who later claimed in an interview to a TV channel from his hideout that he was not present at his residence at the time of the raid.

Bhardwaj and Gupta, who has been lodged in local Burail jail in judicial custody, have been suspended by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Bureau Report