PF scam: CBI indicts ex-SC judge, 23 other judges

PF scam: CBI indicts ex-SC judge, 23 other judges

Dhananjay Mahapatra, TNN, Jul 28, 2010, 09.48pm IST
NEW DELHI: This is
the biggest ever indictment of the country's judiciary. An extensive
CBI probe into the fradulent withdrawal of Rs 6.58 crore from the
provident fund accounts of class III and IV employees in the Ghaziabad
district court, has found a former Supreme Court judge along with 23
other sitting and retired judges of Allahabad High Court and lower
court judges guilty of misdemeanour.

After investigating as
many as 47 judges for their alleged role in the scam, the CBI on
Wednesday submitted a report to the Supreme Court detailing the
misdemeanor and acts of omission and commission of those found guilty.

Though
the judges in question are being let off because of lack of
"prosecutable evidence", the findings of CBI probe can jolt those who
play down the growing instance of irregularities in judiciary, saying
that the phenomenon was limited to lower rungs.

The report
perused by a Bench comprising Justices D K Jain, V S Sirpurkar and G S
Singhvi contained the name of Justice Tarun Chatterjee, who retired on
January 14 this year after nearly five and a half years as SC judge.

Though
the former SC judge had denied any role in the wrong doing during the
questioning done with prior permission of the then CJI, the CBI has
said he had committed a "folly" which was an "indiscretion without any
criminal intent". The Bench deferred a decision on the request from
counsel Prashant Bhushan to make CBI's findings public.

Attorney
General G E Vahanvati informed the Bench that the report was also being
given to Chief Justice of India S H Kapadia and Allahabad High Court
Chief Justice for taking action on the administrative side against the
24 judges, who were found to have committed acts of commission and
omission but were not being proceeded against due to lack of
"prosecutable evidence".

What was worse, the AG vehemently
argued for transfer of the trial of the PF scam from Ghaziabad to Delhi
while accusing the sitting district judge of interfering with the trial
by attempting to rope in the Uttar Pradesh Police as prosecution in the
case and asking CBI to take a back seat despite the agency having been
entrusted the task of investigation by the apex court.

Vahanvati
explained that if the district judge, under whose administrative
jurisdiction the CBI judge conducting the trial functions, was to take
such a stand, then the trial would be vitiated. More so, because the
CBI has already chargesheeted six judges along with 72 others in the
scam.

The Bench immediately stayed further trial proceedings
before the special judge (CBI) in the PF scam that was spread from the
year 2001 to 2008 with the accused, Asuthosh Asthana, as treasury
officer playing a key role. The whistle on the scam was blown by the
special judge, Ghaziabad, Rama Jain, who filed a complaint on February
15, 2008. Asthana died under mysterious circumstances in Dasana jail in
September last year.

If
it questioned the behaviour of 24 judges, then CBI also gave a clean
chit to 17 other judges, including Justice S C Nigam of Allahabad HC,
against whom it found no material evidence.

"In respect of 24
judges/judicial officers, sufficient prosecutable evidence was not
available warranting their prosecution. A CBI report has been sent to
the competent authorities for appropriate action against them for
various acts of commission and omission," the agency said.

The
CBI has found details of the heartless manner in which the hard-earned
PF money of class III and IV employees of Ghaziabad courts was
illegally siphoned out and lavishly spent on furniture, crockery,
mobiles, electronic gadgets and appliances, laptops, rail tickets, taxi
fare and other luxury items for the judges.

Those indicted
district judges, who headed the Ghaziabad judiciary during the scam
period, had almost made it a `way of life' to burn holes in low-grade
employees' PF accounts not only for purchase of luxury items, but even
for photography and video-recording of family functions and marriages.

"About
500 strips of negatives of the photographs, one CD and two mini video
cassettes said to be related to the functions of various members of
judiciary were recovered," CBI sources told TOI quoting from an earlier
status report submitted to the SC.

"Out of the proceeds of
crime, R P Mishra, R P Yadav, R N Mishra, A K Singh, R S Chauney and
Arun Kumar -- who were district judges at various periods -- obtained
valuable things/services in the form of monthly ration, fruits,
vegetables, sweets, jewellery, clothing, saris, expensive electronic
goods like computers, TV, fridge, washing machine, mobile phones,
crockery items etc, availed taxis, transportation of goods and wooden
furniture in their houses," the CBI said.

It is not that these judges
could not have afforded mobile phones. But, as these came free, they
seldom flinched in accepting freebies provided by Asthana courtesy the
PF money of unsuspecting employees, the CBI found. "As per Asthana, he
had provided about 60-70 mobile phone instruments to various members of
the judiciary," the agency said.

Asthana, who as the treasury
officer was tasked to safeguard the PF money of the employees,
allegedly did not think twice before opening the strings of the
illegally filled purse to meet the expenses for transporting articles
-- furniture, crockery, utensils which again were bought from the PF
money -- to the residences of the judges.

"Several invoices
containing entries in respect of trucks/vehicles provided in last six
years containing about 35 entries related to Asthana, sent to various
judges of higher and subordinate judiciary have been found," CBI
claimed. The trucks had an unbelievably smooth passage through states
before reaching their destinations mainly because they were accompanied
by a judicial certificate.

"Four
original certificates said to be issued by Chief Judicial Magistrate,
Ghaziabad, certifying that the truck numbers mentioned in the
certificate were carrying the articles of members of judiciary, which
were given to the truck driver for smooth passage of goods while
passing several states, have also been recovered," it said.

CBI
also claimed to have recovered 28 bills of sale of crockery to Asthana
and the monogram of the district judge, Ghaziabad, for the year
2006-07. It has also found that Asthana allegedly picked up 43 taxi
bills of judges and paid them from the PF money.

"About 540
assorted slips, bills, pieces of papers, sketches etc. were got
recovered from the carpenter from his wife. These bills pertain to
purchase of various raw material for furniture items during last seven
years," the CBI said. This probably completes the chain -- making of
furniture and their transportation to the residences of the judges far
away from Ghaziabad.

The
carpenter, who made the furniture, appears to have impressed the judges
with his skill, for he was called to the residences of the judges with
fresh orders and he answered these calls travelling with rail tickets
purchased from the PF money.

He was called to the judges'
residences away from Ghaziabad in Lucknow and Allahabad as many as 17
times and his train tickets were allegedly bought from the PF money,
the agency suspected.