ARUN KUMAR Vs. CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE present batch of nine criminal revision petitions arise out of order dated 25.11.2013 passed by the learned Special Judge (C.B.I.), Court No. 1, Ghaziabad in Special Case No. 49 of 2011 by which the petitions filed by the petitioners seeking their discharge from the case were dismissed. It appears further from the heads of charges which appear annexed to some of the petitions, like, that filed by petitioner Arun Kumar, that charges against the accused persons under Sections 120B, 420, 467, 468, 471 I.P.C. and Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act were framed.

(2.) UNDISPUTEDLY , petitioners Arun Kumar, Radhe Shyam Chaube, R.P. Yadav, Ajay Kumar Singh and Ram Prasad Mishra were District Judges at one point of time or the other of the judgeship of Ghaziabad in the State of U.P. Petitioner Arun Kumar was In -charge District Judge, Ghaziabad from the 1st of January, 2008 to the 3rd of February, 2008. Petitioner Radhe Shyam Chaube was the District Judge of the same judgeship from the 30th of November, 2006 to the 31st of December, 2007. Petitioner R.P. Yadav was District Judge, Ghaziabad from the 14th of January, 2003 to the 31st of July, 2008 whereas petitioner Ravindra Nath Mishra was the District Judge, Ghaziabad from 4.9.2004 to 15.1.2006. Petitioner Ajay Kumar Singh was the District Judge of the above judgeship from the 13th of February, 2006 to the 19th of November, 2006 whereas Ram Prasad Mishra was the District Judge of the same judgeship from the 9th of March, 1999 to the 30th of June, 2002. As regards petitioner Narendra Kumar of Criminal Revision Petition No. 20 of 2014, he was the Assistant in the judgeship and petitioner Abhishek Gautam of Criminal Revision Petition No. 50 of 2014 is the son of petitioner Ajay Kumar Singh of Criminal Revision Petition No. 49 of 2014, who was the District Judge of Ghaziabad. The three petitioners of Criminal Revision Petition No. 62 of 2014 are the wife or other relatives of late Ashutosh Asthana, who appears the kingpin of the entire sordid scam having gained notoriety as "Ghaziabad G.P.F. Scam".

(3.) IT also appears that, initially, the case was registered by the local police and investigation was completed by sending up some persons for trial but, subsequently, the matter being highlighted, the State Government recommended for investigation of the entire fraud and fraudulent withdrawals by the Central Bureau of Investigation (C.B.I.) by issuing notification to that effect and, accordingly, the case was transferred to the C.B.I. It also appears that the Supreme Court also directed the investigation by the C.B.I.