CBI recorded statements of three senior lawyers to corroborate case

While senior lawyer Arun Jain,engaged by Veena Goyal (the petitioner),was replaced later by Sanjiv Bansal,senior advocate Ashok Aggarwal,who was engaged earlier by R K Mittal (respondent),was replaced later by M L Sarin.

The chargesheet also has an exhibit in which mention of a “brief” (file) of a senior lawyer has been made. The CBI has referred to the file which corroborates the fact that the property case was first posted to March 11,2008,and later advanced to February 4,2008. The date has been cut and re-written on the file.

The brief has been annexed as a piece of evidence by the CBI to prove its case. Chargesheeting Justice Yadav under Section 11 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act on the day of her retirement,the CBI had attached a list of witnesses in which names of the three senior lawyers figured.

The CBI had asked the lawyers about the genesis of the case and their comments as to whether they (lawyers) suspected any foul play. When contacted,senior advocate Arun Jain who had initially prepared the draft appeal on behalf of Veena Goyal,told The Indian Express: “I was contacted by the CBI sleuths to find out as to whether I was the lawyer who was first engaged by the petitioner in the case.”

Around seven months ago,CBI officers had met M L Sarin,who was representing R K Mittal who lost the case,and asked for Sarin’s comments. When contacted,Sarin confirmed the development: “A senior officer had come to me and enquired about the case.”

On the other hand,terming it to be a “confusion”,senior lawyer Ashok Aggarwal,who was initially engaged by Mittal (respondent) and later replaced by Sarin,said: “No CBI officer ever contacted me for this case. I believe they must have contacted some other Ashok Aggarwal.” However,Aggarwal confirmed the fact that he was initially engaged by R K Mittal to represent his case.

In its chargesheet,the CBI has submitted that “investigation has revealed that Justice Nirmal Yadav had obtained valuable things/pecuniary advantages from Sanjiv Bansal…”