Complete Haryana judicial paper leak trial by April 15, says Delhi High Court

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, January 19

Terming the Haryana Civil Services (Judicial) Preliminary Examination, 2017, paper leak case a “serious matter”, the Delhi High Court has asked the trial court to take it up on a day-to-day basis and complete the trial positively by April 15.

Case transferred from Chandigarh

• Balwinder Kumar Sharma, a former Registrar (Recruitment) of the Punjab and Haryana HC, main accused in the case
• The case was transferred to Delhi from Chandigarh on the orders of the Supreme Court in February 2021

“This is a serious matter involving the leak of judicial examination papers. The matter was transferred from Chandigarh to Delhi by virtue of the orders of the apex court. The trial court is expected to expedite the matter and take it up on a day-to-day basis. The trial court is directed to dispose of the matter positively on or before April 15 and send a compliance report to this court,” Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma said in an order on Thursday. Justice Sharma noted that counsel for both parties had undertaken to cooperate in the expeditious trial before the trial court.

The direction came after the Additional Public Prosecutor for the state pointed out that despite the August 25, 2022, order of the high court to dispose of the matter expeditiously, it was still pending.

Balwinder Kumar Sharma, a former Registrar (Recruitment) of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, was the main accused in the case, which was transferred to Delhi from Chandigarh on the top court’s orders in February 2021.

The high court gave liberty to Sharma to move an appropriate application at the stage of defence evidence for summoning four documents, which the trial court shall decide in accordance with law after his counsel withdrew an application on the issue.

The Delhi High Court had in December last year dismissed Sharma’s petition challenging the trial court’s January 31, 2020, order framing charges against him in the case.

“The record…indicates that the petitioner was in possession of the question paper immediately before the alleged leak. The case is of a very sensitive nature and the evidence which is required to be led for the purpose of proving the case is either digital or documentary in nature,” Justice Sharma had said in his December 14, 2023, order.

The case is related to the leak of the Haryana Civil Services (Judicial Branch) Preliminary Examination, 2017. The question paper allegedly remained in the custody of petitioner Sharma, Registrar (Recruitment), from the time it was finalised till its dispatch to the examination centre. It was alleged that he had given a copy of the question paper to accused Sunita, who further passed it on to Sushila and held negotiations with Suman for supplying a copy of the question paper to her for consideration of money.