Former HC judge acquitted in 'Cash At Door Case' after 17 years

A special CBI court on Saturday acquitted former Punjab and Haryana high court judge Nirmal Yadav in a 2008 corruption case. Additional Sessions Judge, Justice Alka Malik, of the Special CBI court, pronounced the order on Saturday. The Court acquitted retired Justice Yadav and three other accused, Ravinder Singh Bhasin, Rajiv Gupta and Nirmal Singh, in the 2008 cash-at-judge's door case. Another accused, Sanjeev Bansal, died during the trial of the case."I have faith in the judiciary," Justice Yadav told reporters outside the court.
The case revolves around a cash packet containing Rs 15 lakh, allegedly meant for her, that was mistakenly delivered to the house of another judge, Justice Nirmaljit Kaur, in August 2008. According to the prosecution, a packet containing Rs 15 lakh in cash was delivered at the Sector 11 residence of justice Nirmaljit Kaur, also a judge at the high court at that time. She complained to the police who registered an FIR. The police said the cash was actually meant for justice Nirmal Yadav. The allegation was that the cash was payback for a favourable judgment in a property dispute in Panchkula in 2007 in favour of Sanjeev Bansal, then Haryana additional advocate general, property dealer Rajiv Gupta and Delhi-based hotelier Ravinder Singh Bhasin, who were other accused in the case.Justice Yadav went on leave after her name figured in the scandal in 2008 and was subsequently transferred to the Uttarakhand high court.
Later, the case was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the directions of then UT administrator SF Rodrigues.The CBI on March 4, 2011 charge-sheeted Justice Nirmal Yadav, who was then a judge in the Uttarakhand High Court, on the day of her retirement. Charges were framed against four others in the scam. In 2013, Justice Nirmal Yadav said that she was targeted by fellow members of the judiciary who conspired against her. The trial reached a conclusion 17 years after the FIR was registered in the first case where a sitting judge was booked for corruption