A special CBI court in Chandigarh on Saturday cleared retired judge Justice Nirmal Yadav of any wrongdoing in a 2008 case. The case involved a packet containing Rs 15 lakh in cash that was wrongly delivered to the home of another judge, Justice Nirmaljit Kaur. At the time, Justice Yadav was serving as a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The court, led by Special CBI Judge Alka Malik, announced the final decision on Saturday, acquitting Justice Yadav and the other accused. Justice Yadav (retd) said, “I have not committed any crime, and nothing incriminating was found during the entire trial.”
The case goes back to August 13, 2008, when a clerk at Justice Kaur’s residence mistakenly received a packet containing Rs 15 lakh. The packet was supposed to be for Justice Yadav, but due to their similar names, it was delivered to the wrong address.
Justice Kaur informed the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Chandigarh Police, leading to an FIR being filed on August 16, 2008. Ten days later, the case was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which opened a fresh investigation.
During the investigation, it was found that the money was delivered by a clerk of former Haryana Additional Advocate General Sanjeev Bansal. The clerk also told Justice Kaur that the money was meant for someone named Nirmal Singh but had been mistakenly sent to her home.
In January 2009, the CBI asked for permission to prosecute Justice Yadav. The high court gave permission in November 2010, and the President of India approved the prosecution in March 2011. The CBI then filed a chargesheet.
During the trial, 84 witnesses were listed, and 69 were examined. In February of this year, the high court allowed the CBI to re-examine 10 more witnesses and instructed the trial court to avoid unnecessary delays.
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