IT TOOK one complaint from Gurvinder Singh Samra, a registered medical practitioner from Kartarpur, Jalandhar, to open a can of worms. Now the CBI needle of suspicion points firmly at Chandigarh judicial magistrate S S Bhardwaj and Jalandhar district and sessions judge R M Gupta. This, they believe, is the tip of a major judicial scam.Bhardwaj, say CBI sources, had a unique modus operandi. He would give ex-parte decisions — after his hands were reportedly adequately greased — by ensuring other litigants did not receive their notices. CBI officials have already identified at least 20 such cases. ‘‘Some 28 police officials, including IPS and PPS officers, are also being investigated in this connection,’’ they say.Bhardwaj doubled up as a conduit for Gupta. Samra, in fact, approached the CBI when the Chandigarh magistrate asked for Rs 11 lakh on Gupta’s behalf to ensure bail in a case slapped on Samra by the Punjab Police. CBI sources say Gupta and Bhardwaj instructed Samra to file for anticipatory bail at the Jalandhar sessions court and promised him interim relief before payment of the first installment of Rs 7 lakh. Samra was granted bail, but he also tipped off the CBI, and officials caught Bhardwaj red-handed on May 10. But the magistrate managed to slip away in the ensuing melee. A hue and cry notice has been issued for him, while Gupta has been arrested.What prompted Samra to complain to the CBI when the judges had kept their side of the bargain? The doctor claims, ‘‘Since 1997, some Punjab Police personnel have been after me. I’ve bribed policemen and judges several times, it was becoming intolerable,’’ says Samra. ‘‘So I decided to settle it for good.’’But the police deny charges of harassment. Jalandhar SSP Varinder Kumar says, on the contrary, that Samra faces cases for medical negligence, trespassing and land-grabbing.
