After 17 years, former High Court judge Nirmal Yadav has been acquitted in a corruption case by a special CBI Court.
It was the longest running trial at the district courts in Chandigarh.
As per the FIR, a packet containing ₹15 lakh in cash was mistakenly delivered at the 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 prosecution said the cash was actually meant for Justice Nirmal Yadavas 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 were other accused in the case.
Notably, Sanjeev Bansal died during the course of the trial.
This was apparently the first case where a sitting judge was accused of corruption.
After registration of the FIR in 2008, CBI investigated the case and filed a closure report in 2009, saying that no case was made out. However, a CBI court dismissed the closure report and asked for a fresh investigation in the case.
Justice Nirmal Yadav was transferred to Uttarakhand High Court after the case was registered against her. Now, 17 years after the FIR was registered, she has been acquitted.
