A Special Court at Panchkula, presided over by Special Judge (CBI) Rajeev Goyal, has discharged former CBI/PMLA Judge Sudhir Parmar along with other accused in a corruption case registered by the Haryana Anti-Corruption Bureau, holding that no prima facie case was made out for framing of charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act and IPC.
The Court found that the prosecution’s case was primarily based on WhatsApp chats, audio recordings, and source information alleging demand and acceptance of bribes in connection with cases involving real estate entities. However, it noted serious evidentiary gaps. Crucially, the prosecution failed to disclose the original source of the electronic evidence or the devices used for creating the recordings, and was unable to produce the mandatory certificate under Section 65B of the Evidence Act.
The Court also relied on CFSL reports, which indicated that several audio recordings suffered from poor quality, insufficient data for voice identification, or lack of clear extraction, thereby undermining their reliability. In several instances, the Court observed that the conversations did not conclusively establish demand or acceptance of illegal gratification.
Further, despite seizure and forensic examination of mobile phones, the alleged incriminating WhatsApp chats relating to bribery could not be traced from the devices. This, coupled with the absence of corroborative material, rendered the prosecution’s case doubtful even at the stage of framing of charge.
The Court emphasised that suspicion, however strong, cannot substitute legal proof, and that at the stage of framing charges, the material must disclose grave suspicion backed by admissible evidence. Finding the material inadequate, it held that continuing proceedings would amount to an abuse of process.
Accordingly, all accused were discharged, with the Court holding that offences under Sections 7, 8, 11 and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 120-B IPC were not made out on the basis of the material on record.
Appearances:
For the State: Sh. Manjeet Singh, Deputy Director of Prosecution; Sh. Pawan Bishnoi, Public Prosecutor Assisted by Inspector Amit Kumar & Dalbir Singh (Retd. Inspector), ACB
For the Accused:
Sudhir Parmar: Sh. Sunil K.S. Panwar, Senior Advocate with Sh. Sriraj K.S. Panwar, Advocate
Ajay Parmar: Sh. Viraj Gandhi, Advocate
Anil Bhalla: Sh. Adarsh Dubey, Advocate
Lalit Goyal: Sh. Arshdeep Singh Khurana, Advocate
Roop Bansal: Sh. Vijay Kumar Aggarwal, Advocate
Additional assistance by Sh. Siddharth Bhardwaj and Sh. Yavneet Dhakla, Advocates