Punjab ex-judge to be tried in cash-at-doorstep case

Nirmal Yadav, a former judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, will be tried in the cash-at-doorstep case as the Supreme Court Friday dismissed her plea challenging the framing of charges against her.

Rejecting her plea seeking suspension of the proceedings at the trial court, which is set to frame charges against the former judge, a bench of Justice H.L. Dattu and Justice C.Nagappan said the matter relates to 2008 and there already have been several rounds of litigation.

"This is a matter of 2008, how many rounds of litigation by the judge?" the court observed as her counsel S.K.Garg Narwana pressed for restraining the trial court from framing the charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The court sought to know why it should interfere at this stage of framing of charges as Narwana argued that it was not because of his client that the trial in the case has been delayed.

As he argued that there was nothing incriminating against Yadav, Justice Dattu observed that in the absence of evidence, she would get acquitted.

Finding that court was not inclined to grant any relief to Yadav, Narwana said: "I can persuade the court that there is no evidence against her and that she was being harassed" and "she too has rights as citizens like others".

In 2008, a bag containing Rs.15 lakh in cash was delivered at the residence of Justice Nirmaljit Kaur of the same high court, but it transpired the money was meant to be delivered to Nirmal Yadav. She moved the apex court after the high court dismissed her plea against the framing of charges.