Is Centre ready for CBI probe in GPF scam: SC

New Delhi, Sep 16 (UNI) Showing anxiety to clear the stables of judiciary from corruption, the Supreme Court has sought the response of the Centre as to whether it was prepared for a CBI enquiry into th Ghaziabad District Court GPF scam case.

A bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and M K Sharma yesterday directed Solicitor General G E Vahanvati to seek instructions from the Union Government and inform the court so that petitions seeking a CBI enquiry into the Rs 7-crore scam, in which 36 judges, including one sitting Supreme Court judge, 11 judges of the Allahabad and Uttarakhand High Courts and 24 District and Sessions Judges of Ghaziabad have been named as beneficiaries of the scam.

The Mayawati Government has already given its consent for a CBI enquiry into the scandal which, according to the Gaziabad District Bar Association, is worth Rs 23 crore and not Rs 7 crore, as mentioned in the FIR.

Former Union Law Minister and Senior Advocate, Shanti Bhushan, Transparency International and the Ghaziabad District Bar Association have filed separate petitions for a CBI enqiry into the scandal, in which Rs 7 crore were fraudulently siphoned off during the period 2002-2007. An amount of Rs 4 crore were allegedly withdrawn during 2007 alone, when Mr Chaubey was the District and Sessions Judge, Ghaziabad.

The main accused in the case, Ashutosh Asthana, suspended Treasurer of the Treasury, presently in jail, has named 36 judges as beneficiaries in the scam in his statement recorded under Section 164, CrPC, by special judge Rama Jain and the same is admissible as evidence.

Under pressure from the increasing exposure of corruption in the judiciary, Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan has already allowed a CBI interrogation of two sitting judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court-- Justices Nirmal Yadav and Nirmaljeet Kaur-- and has also recommended impeachment of Calcutta High Court Judge Soumitra Sen.

UNI SC SBC MIR HT1300