17 yrs on, no progress in cash seizure case against retired judge

The discovery of a huge volume of cash at the residence of a judge of the Delhi high court may have shocked the nation, but a similar case involving a sitting woman judge of the Punjab and Haryana high court reported in 2008 is yet to find closure.

- Aneesha Sareen Kumar

CHANDIGARH:

The infamous corruption case involving justice (now retd) Nirmal Yadav was first registered by the Chandigarh Police on August 13, 2008. A packet containing ₹15 lakh was mistakenly delivered at the Sector 11 residence of justice Nirmaljit Kaur, also a judge at the HC. She complained to the police, who registered an FIR. Police said the cash was actually meant for justice Nirmal Yadav.

The allegation was that the cash was payback for a judgment in a property dispute in Panchkula in 2007, in favour of Sanjeev Bansal, then Haryana's additional advocate general, property dealer Rajiv Gupta and Delhi-based hotelier Ravinder Singh Bhasin. Justice Nirmal Yadav went on leave after her name figured in the scandal and was subsequently transferred to the Uttarakhand high court.