A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Court in Chandigarh acquitted former Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice (Retd) Nirmal Yadav and four others on Saturday in a 2008 ‘cash at judge’s door’ case.
The Court of Special CBI judge Alka Malik pronounced the verdict on Saturday, PTI reported. The court on Thursday had heard the final arguments in the case registered against Justice Yadav by the CBI and posted the pronouncement of verdict for March 29.
Details Of The Case
This acquittal comes seventeen years after the high-profile case came to light. According to PTI, a packet with Rs 15 lakh inside it was delivered allegedly wrongly to Justice Nirmaljit Kaur, another sitting HC judge, at her residence on August 13, 2008. The cash was allegedly meant for Justice Yadav and was a bribe to influence a property deal.
As per PTI, other names that surfaced in the case were of Sanjiv Bansal (former Additional Advocate General, Haryana); Ravinder Singh (hotelier from Delhi); Rajiv Gupta (city-based businessman); and one other person. Bansal passed away in 2017 due to an illness.
Justice Yadav was transferred to the Uttarakhand HC in 2010, as per the website of the HC of Uttarakhand.
The matter was reported to the Chandigarh Police, subsequently an FIR was registered. Later, the case was transferred to the CBI. In December 2009, the CBI filed a closure report of the case, however it was rejected by the CBI special court in March 2010 and a reinvestigation was order.
The CBI sought sanction to prosecute Justice Yadav, the then chief justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted the same in November 2010, as per PTI. The President of India’s office approved the prosecution sanction in March 2011. On March 4, 2011, the CBI charge-sheeted Justice Yadav.
On January 18, 2014, the special CBI court framed charges against Justice Yadav in the case after the apex Court dismissed her plea for stay on proceedings of the trial court. The CBI had held that Justice Yadav had committed an offence punishable under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
Justice Nirmal Yadav’s Statement
Talking to PTI, Justice Yadav said, “I had quite high hopes in life even before retirement. My ambition was to go to the highest court. I wanted to do a lot of things, but because of this I could not.”
VIDEO | Chandigarh: Here’s what former Punjab and Haryana HC judge Nirmal Yadav said on being acquitted by CBI court in cash-at-judge’s door case after 17 years.
“I had been given the exemption by the court for appearing, but still I used to inquire about the hearing. It is a… pic.twitter.com/RBpAvR6Mav
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 29, 2025
Defence Counsel’s Statements
Defence counsel Vishal Garg Narwana said the court acquitted former Justice Yadav and four others.
“Today, the court has passed the judgement in the matter. Justice (Retd) Nirmal Yadav has been acquitted. False allegations have been levelled against her,” PTI quoted Narwana.
A detailed order is awaited.
On the other hand, Advocate B S Riar, counsel for accused Rajiv Gupta and Sanjeev Bansal, said, “The important thing is that justice has finally been served. We are relieved that, even though it was delayed, the right decision was made in the end.”
VIDEO | CBI court acquitted all the accused, including retired Justice Nirmal Yadav, a former judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court, in the 17-year-old Cash-at-Door scam. Here’s what Advocate B S Riar, counsel for accused Rajiv Gupta and Sanjeev Bansal, said:
“Yes, it took 17… pic.twitter.com/1NHODigGP1
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 29, 2025
(with PTI inputs)
