Cops put judges in the trial box

NEW DELHI: The Ghaziabad judicial scam, in which several sitting high court judges and a supreme court judge are among the accused, has taken a fresh twist with several of these judges replying to detailed questionnaires sent by the investigating police team.

The scam, presently being heard in the supreme court, involved fraudulent withdrawal of PF money of class III and IV employees for buying gifts and services for the accused judges over almost seven years. Several of the judges accused of accepting gifts bought illegally from provident fund deposits of Ghaziabad have replied in writing, according to sources. The case is turning out to be probably the largest judicial scam in the country, in which at least 36 judges including many from high courts are accused of accepting gifts and services bought using PF money illegally withdrawn from Ghaziabad district.

At least one source in Ghaziabad told DNA that the Uttar Pradesh police are not too impressed with the replies of many judges. The state police had sent detailed questionnaires to 36 judges whose names emerged during questioning of the main accused Ashutosh Asthana, former treasurer of the district court.

He said the money that was withdrawn illegally was used mostly for providing gifts and services to the judges. “Some of the judges have responded to the questionnaires but not all of them. We are examining the replies received so far and are trying to see what more can be asked from them,” Ghaziabad senior superintendent of police Deepak Ratan told DNA, indicating that the replies have left a lot to be desired. The replies are being kept under wraps considering the high-profile nature of the case and the hue and cry the legal proceedings have generated.

The case has seen unprecedented drama in the supreme court, where it is being heard right now, with allegations that the apex court was trying to shield corrupt judges. In  an angry response to the allegation, first it was chief justice of India KG Balakrishnan who recused himself from the case after the Indian chapter of Transparency International challenged his administrative decisions relating to the scam probe.

Then earlier this month, justice BN Agrawal, the second senior-most judge in the country, withdrew from the second bench amidst high drama in the court room following a spat with former law minister Shanti Bhushan who accused the court of shielding the “corrupt” judges. The CJI has now constituted a third bench headed by justice Arijit Pasayat, which will hear the case on September 9.

Two other judges on the new bench, Justice VS Sirpurkar and justice GS Singhvi, were also part of the bench headed by justice Agrawal.  There are two petitions before the supreme court, one filed by the Ghaziabad Bar Association challenging the Allahabad high court’s refusal to order a CBI probe and the other by Transparency International seeking an “impartial” probe.

UP police, clearly in a tight spot, is in no mood for adventurism as displayed in the Nithari and Arushi murder cases. They are strictly going by the directions of the three-judge apex court bench. “We sent the questionnaires to the judges as directed by the bench.We will seek the court’s direction for further action,” said a senior UP police officer. The Ghaziabad police is awaiting the replies of the remaining judges.

“The contents of the replies received from some of the judges are under scrutiny. It will not be proper to reveal anything more about the case at this juncture. A large number of judges have still not responded to the questionnaires,” said the police officer.

The scam had come to light in January this year, when sessions judge Rama Jain, the high court-appointed vigilance officer for Ghaziabad, received anonymous complaints from court employees. Investigations revealed that large-scale funds running into crores (Rs23 crore, according to some estimates) had been siphoned-off from the district treasury in the name of provident fund advances for class III and IV court employees.

In her report to the Allahabad high court, Jain expressed apprehensions of a big conspiracy to loot the public exchequer.

The Ghaziabad police registered an FIR on February 15 on the directions of the HC against 82 persons with Asthana as the main accused. The FIR was lodged after a committee of three judges appointed by the court had endorsed Jain’s report. Seventy-five people have so far been charge sheeted in the case. In his confession main accused Asthana listed the names of the district judges who sanctioned withdrawal of money from the treasury and also of other judges who received household goods at their houses, between 2001 and 2007. Of the 36 judges named by Asthana, one is a sitting SC judge, while 11 judges belong to Allahabad and Uttarakhand high courts. Twenty-four judges are district-level judges of Uttar Pradesh.
aditya_k@dnaindia.net