Delhi court grants bail to woman judge in graft case

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Monday granted bail to suspended Senior Civil Judge Rachna Tiwari Lakhanpal in a corruption case.

Special Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal ordered the accused judicial officer to furnish a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and surety of the like amount for bail.

Rachna, posted at the Tis Hazari Court, her lawyer husband Alok Lakhanpal and another lawyer Vishal Mehan were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation on September 28. Alok and Mehan are currently in judicial custody.

The CBI opposed Rachna's bail plea on the ground that the case investigation was at an initial stage and her role had to be looked into and that she was an influential person.

The CBI told the court that a complaint was received on September 27 against the judicial officer that she had appointed an advocate (Mehan) as a local commissioner in a civil case she was adjudicating and had allegedly demanded bribe.

The investigating agency said a raid was conducted at the judicial officer's Gulabi Bagh residence here late September 28 night and Rs 94 lakh seized.

A Central Bureau of Investigation team had first arrested Mehan while he was allegedly accepting the money from the complainant on behalf of Rachna Lakhanpal on the pretext of getting a court decision in his favour in a disputed property case. 

During his questioning, Mehan allegedly said the money was meant to be handed over to the judicial officer. 

"Subsequently, Mehan handed over the bribe money to Rachna at her residence. She kept Rs 4 lakh and gave back Rs 1 lakh to him just before a CBI team arrested her," a CBI officer said after her arrest on September 28.