Former secretary identifies signatures of former President, PM in “cash at judge’s door” case

Neela Gangadharan, a 72-year-old former secretary of the Ministry of Law and Justice, has identified signatures of former president Pratibha Patil and former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh on noting files related to the prosecution sanction against Justice Nirmal Yadav. This development is part of the ongoing “cash at judge’s door” scam case.

Gangadharan, who served as Secretary Justice from May 2010 to December 1, 2011, was examined by the prosecution before the CBI Court in Chandigarh. She stated that the President of India was the sanctioning authority in the case against Justice Nirmal Yadav. According to Gangadharan, the relevant investigation records were received by the President’s office, forwarded to the Department of Justice, and then processed and submitted to the Chief Justice of India.

Gangadharan identified her signature, as well as those of Dr M Veerappa Moily (then Minister of Law and Justice), Manmohan Singh, and Pratibha Patil, on page 30 of the noting sheet. However, the defence counsel objected to the deposition, citing that the document was not part of the original challan and had not been relied upon by the CBI. The high court has allowed the examination of the witness to prove prosecution sanction against Justice Nirmal Yadav.

The case originated from an FIR registered on August 16, 2008, after a bag containing currency notes was wrongly delivered to the residence of Justice Nirmaljit Kaur. The complaint was filed by Amrik Singh, a peon working at the judge’s house. Initially investigated by local police, the case was later referred to the CBI on August 26, 2008.