Suspended Delhi Judge Seeks Quashing of ED's Money Laundering Case Against Her

New Delhi. Suspended senior judge of Delhi's Tis Hazari Court, Rachna Tiwari Lakhanpal, has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court seeking the quashing of the money laundering case registered against her by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

She approached the High Court claiming that the order issued against her by the trial court violated Section 223 of the Indian Code of Criminal Procedure. According to this legal provision, an accused in any crime must be given an opportunity to be heard.

The judge stated in her petition, “The order issued by the trial court on October 22, 2024, is contrary to the spirit of the law.” The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had initially arrested the suspended judge in 2016 on charges of accepting a bribe.

She was accused of demanding a bribe of 20 lakh rupees on the condition of issuing a favorable order for the respondent in a case pending in her court, through an advocate. The CBI claimed to have recovered the bribe money during a raid on her residence.

Based on that corruption case, the Enforcement Directorate registered a money laundering case against her in 2024. Earlier, in 2022, the CBI had also registered another case against her for acquiring assets disproportionate to her known sources of income.

The initial hearing for this petition was scheduled for January 20 in the bench of Justice Anup Jairam Bhambani, but he recused himself from the case. Subsequently, it was presented before the bench of Justice Manoj Jain on January 21, but the court did not convene that day. 
The next hearing for this case is now scheduled for March 9. She was suspended from her post following the corruption allegations.