Chandigarh, Jan 18 (IANS): A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court here Saturday framed corruption charges against former Uttarakhand High Court judge Nirmal Yadav in the multi-million rupee "cash-for-judge" scam.
Yadav was present in the court when the charges were framed by CBI court judge Vimal Kumar.
Charges were also framed against four others, including Delhi-based hotelier Ravinder Singh, former additional advocate general of Haryana Sanjiv Bansal, Panchkula-based businessman Rajiv Gupta and another person identified as Nirmal Singh.
Yadav, who was a judge in the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Chandigarh earlier, and the others, will now face trial for corruption.
The trial is set to begin Feb 15.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court was hit by a scam in 2008, after a packet containing Rs.1.5 million (Rs.15 lakh) in cash was delivered Aug 13 that year at the the Sector 11 residence of a newly appointed high court judge, Nirmaljit Kaur.
The judge complained to police and registered a case.
Investigators found that the money was meant for Justice Nirmal Yadav, but was delivered at the home of the newly appointed judge by mistake.
Yadav was a sitting judge in the high court here when the scam came to light.
The ex-judge refused to talk to reporters after charges were framed against her.
"There is no use in talking to you (media)," she said, hurriedly leaving the court complex here.
The CBI had booked Yadav and others under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act. A case was registered by the Chandigarh Police initially, and the investigation was later handed over to the CBI.
Yadav had tried her best to get out of the case, but her pleas were rejected by the high court and the Supreme Court.
Despite objections from Yadav, the Supreme Court had set up an independent inquiry into the case. The Punjab and Haryana High Court later, in 2011, directed Yadav to appear before the trial court.
Yadav was later transferred to the Uttarakhand High Court, from where she retired in 2012.
The CBI had filed a charge-sheet against Yadav for corruption, conspiracy, destruction of evidence and creation of false evidence.