The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is set to file a criminal case against former High Court judge Shameet Mukherjee who resigned in the wake of the DDA corruption scam. The FIR, which has been examined last week by CBI’s legal cell, is expected to be filed in a sessions court within a day or two. The case against Mukherjee is to be filed under Section 13(1)(d)(iii) of the Prevention of Corruption Act which lays down various provisions for criminal misconduct of a public servant. The relevant section lays down action against a public servant who ‘‘by abusing his position as a public servant, obtained for himself or any other person any valuable thing or pecuniary advantage.’’ The CBI case against Mukherjee hinges on the recovery of four original High Court files of property disputes being heard by him from the residence of middleman Dharamveer Khattar. As reported first by The Indian Express, the CBI had sent a written report about the recovery of files immediately to Home Secretary N Gopalaswami and within hours also informed Chief Justice V N Khare and High Court Chief Justice B C Patel about the developments. Sources say that the FIR is likely to expand upon the role of a woman lawyer who practises in the Tis Hazari courts. What is not clear is whether the lawyer will be named along with the former judge as a co-accused or not. The identity of the lawyer was mentioned by the CBI in its communication to the Home Ministry. Corroboration of her links with the judge had come from surveillance done on Khattar’s telephones and later from the interrogation of Ashok Kapoor, the suspended DDA employee who was working with Khattar. While Khattar is in judicial custody in hospital, Kapoor is in judical custody in Tihar Jail. While Mukherjee refused to comment on the controversy over his resignation, The Indian Express met the lawyer at her residence in Chandini Chowk. She admitted she knew Shameet Mukherjee since her days as a student in Delhi’s Law College but denied she had anything to do with the DDA scam.
