Three turn hostile in judge bribery case

Aneesha Sareen

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 21

In a setback to the Central Bureau of Investigation, three prosecution witnesses today turned hostile in the CBI court here during resumed hearing of the infamous bribery case involving a retired Punjab and Haryana High Court Judge, Justice Nirmal Yadav, who is the prime accused.

RK Sharma, Managing Director of Ishaan Textiles, and his two employees, Ravinder Singh and Pradeep Kumar, had reportedly stated before the CBI in April 2008 that Delhi-based hotelier Ravinder Singh had got Rs 2.5 lakh delivered to the residence of Justice Yadav four months prior to registration of the Rs 15-lakh corruption case against her in August that year.

Today, however, the trio denied giving any such statement to the CBI.

RK Sharma had reportedly told the CBI of having developed a close friendship with Ravinder Singh, who is an accused in the case. He had then stated how Ravinder had asked him to deliver Rs 2.5 lakh to Justice Yadav with a promise to return it soon. Sharma had also stated that he had got the cash delivered through his employee Ravinder in mid-April, 2008.

His employee Ravinder had admitted before the CBI that he had delivered Rs 2.5 lakh at Yadav’s residence in Sector 24 here. Pradeep had also told the CBI about an entry made to this effect in a diary, countersigned by Sharma.

Today, however, the trio retracted from their earlier statements reportedly given to the CBI under Section 161 of CrPC, following which special public prosecutor Anupam Gupta declared them hostile.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan High Court Judge Nirmaljit Kaur is the next prosecution witness in the case. She will be examined in the CBI court here on February 29. It was at her Sector 11 residence in 2008 that Rs 15 lakh cash allegedly meant for Justice Yadav was mistakenly delivered, following which she had called the police.