New Delhi, September 9
A day after the Centre announced it was preparing to impeach Calcutta High Court Judge Soumitra Sen for ''misconduct,'' Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan today granted permission to the CBI to question two Punjab High Court judges, Nirmaljeet Kaur and Nirmal Yadav, in a ‘cash-at-door’ scam.
The CJI's approval comes at the request of the CBI which has been asked to probe the case by Punjab Governor SFR Rodrigues, who is also Chandigarh Administrator, after consultions with Punjab and Haryana Chief Justice Tirath Singh Thakur.
Punjab High Court Judge Nirmaljeet Kaur had lodged a police complaint on August 13, stating that Rs 15 lakh was found at her doorstep and named Prakash Kumar, assistant of former Additional Advocate General Sanjeev Bansal, as the suspect.
The UT police arrested Bansal after registering a case against him under IPC provisions and the Prevention of Corruption Act. Investigations revealed that the money was actually meant for delivery at the residence of Judge Nirmal Yadav.
CJI Balakrishnan had simultaneously constituted a three-judge committee to go into the matter on the recommendations of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Tirath Singh Thakur.
Justice Hemant Lakshman Gokhle (Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court), Justice K S Radhakrishnan (Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court) and Justice Madan B Lokur (Delhi High Court) were entrusted with the investigation.
