CJAR writes to collegium for probe on judge

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“It is submitted that there are serious allegations against Justice Hemant Gupta of amassing huge wealth disproportionate to the known source of income and also of influencing the ongoing investigations against his wife for the charges of money laundering, acquiring properties illegally by creating forged/sham agreement to sale, evading stamp duty, filing collusive suits for specific performance, transacting through shell companies for layering and structuring the transactions etc,” the CJAR said in its representation to the Chief Justice of India and other judges through advocate Prashant Bhushan.

“The common modus operandi in all the acquisition, as it appears from the investigation carried by the Enforcement Directorate, is that the property dealings were made only on the basis of agreement to sale/general power of attorney/ special power of attorney, without paying adequate amount of sale consideration, stamp duty, registration charges, income tax, capital gains, unearned profits to the government.’’ The CJAR added that it appears that parties evaded stamp duty of the market price and collector rate by getting orders from various courts.

The CJAR cited the ED probe and added that it reveals that the civil suit is taken to Lok Adalat and compromise is made before the Lok Adalat and decree is procured by manipulating the Lok Adalat. “After getting decree from Lok Adalat, sub-registrar is directed to execute sale deed at much lower price privately agreed between the parties,” it said.

The Indian Express had first reported about Justice Gupta’s phone call to then ED investigating officer (IO) Gopesh Byadwal, probing the allegations against the accused, including the judge’s wife, asking him about the ongoing investigations. In November 2015, the ED had sent notices to his wife and others in the case. She had sent a detailed response to the notice.

Last November, the IO was relieved from his post at the end of the tenure while the investigation was shifted to Delhi. But before he went back to his parent cadre, Byadwal, sent a detailed note saying that Justice Gupta and his wife had been “identified as associates and beneficiaries in the process of money-laundering through structuring of shell entities”. Byadwal’s 12-page note dated May 20, 2016, accessed by The Indian Express, was part of the case file with ED.