By IANS,
Hyderabad: The cash-for-bail scam involving a judge and a retired judge in Andhra Pradesh was Friday transferred to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on the direction of the state high court.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been investigating the scam since it found that a CBI judge received a bribe of Rs.5 crore to grant bail to former Karnataka minister Gali Janardhana Reddy in an illegal mining case. However, no arrest has so far been made in the case.
ACB director general Prasada Rao said they have registered a case and started investigations on the direction of the high court.
High court Chief Justice Madan B. Lokur on May 31 suspended First Additional CBI Judge T. Pattabhirama Rao. The scam also involves a retired judge, a rowdy sheeter and two state legislators of Karnataka, including Janardhana Reddy’s brother G. Somasekhara Reddy.
The CBI reportedly seized a part of the bribe money from bank lockers belonging to the suspended judge’s son.
The judge on May 11 had granted bail to Janardhana Reddy in Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) case. He, however, remained in Bangalore jail as he is standing trial in another mining case in Karnataka.
The bail order was subsequently set aside by the high court.
The CBI, which grew suspicious of the judge’s conduct, took up the probe after informing the high court chief justice. However, the agency has officially not released findings of its investigations so far.