CBI recovered High Court files from DDA middleman

Mukherjee, an original civil judge, who joined the High Court in January 2002, resigned on Monday but denied any link with the DDA corruption scandal. ‘‘I have nothing to do with the DDA scam. There is no connection between me and any of the DDA officials under the scanner,’’ he had told The Indian Express after sending his resignation to the President.

The judge, however, was unavailable for comment today. Khattar has escaped the CBI’s dragnet so far and is on the run.

Sources say that besides the files recovered from Khattar’s residence, the CBI has other corroborative evidence to link Mukherjee with Khattar. The evidence includes transcripts of conversations made on Khattar’s telephones, which the CBI had put under surveillance.

It is also learnt that through these transcripts, the CBI also stumbled upon a salacious twist to the scam, which it is keeping under wraps. The players in the four High Court court cases and Khattar’s links with these litigants are being investigated now.

Meanwhile, the CBI is finalising one or maybe even two fresh cases against Khattar. The most recent case has a pattern similar to the Shalimar Bagh case (for which FIR has been filed) in which Khattar acted as the conduit between the DDA and the owner of a commercial property, who had been informed about a violation or irregularity.

The High Court Bar Association and Bar Council have held meetings to discuss Mukherjee’s resignation. Bar Association President Dinesh Mathur said that their Executive Committee took up the issue in a meeting yesterday, but it was inconclusive. ‘‘We wanted to take stock of the situation but nobody had any concrete information. We must bear in mind that a judge is not the custodian of court files and that the possibility of a nexus with the court staff also exists.’’

Bar Council Chairman K C Mittal said they too discussed the Mukherjee resignation in a meeting today but have decided to wait for any official confirmation about Mukherjee’s alleged role in the corruption scandal. ‘‘If what is being rumoured is true, it is a matter for concern for all of us in the High Court. Some decisions will have to be taken but we have not reached that stage yet,’’ he said.