The Supreme Court on Thursday sought the Enforcement Directorate (ED)’s response to real estate firm M3M director Roop Bansal’s plea seeking withdrawal of his petition from the Punjab and Haryana high court for quashing a criminal case for allegedly bribing a trial judge.
Bansal challenged the August 27 high court decision refusing to allow withdrawal of the petition without hearing the ED. The high court had directed ED to file a response and posted the matter for October 13.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Bansal, said, “I am withdrawing unconditionally. I am not seeking any liberty. Why should the high court oppose and seek ED’s reply to my withdrawal application?”
A bench of justices MM Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma said, “If somebody wants to withdraw, they won’t be in a hurry unless they have reason to believe that the ED will file an affidavit that has something against you.” It agreed to hear the matter in October. Singhvi urged the court to hear the matter before the next date of hearing in the high court.
Bansal is accused of “bench hunting”. The ED told the high court that Bansal filed repeated pleas for quashing the case against him and then withdrew. Such “repetitive conduct” of the petitioner to file and later withdraw his pleas amounts to bench-hunting and forum-shopping, the ED said.
Bench hunting or forum shopping refers to an unethical practice of getting a particular judge or bench to hear matters for favourable orders.
Bansal sought the quashing of the Haryana Anti-Corruption Bureau’s April 2023 case against him and former special judge Sudhir Parmar.
The ED, which arrested Bansal in June 2022 over money laundering charges, alleged that the two firms involved in the matter tried to manipulate the trial court proceedings by “indirectly” bribing Parmar.
Parmar was suspended in April 2023 after the ED found his nephew and other family members allegedly received ₹1.3 crore between October 2022 and March 2023, when charges were to be framed against Bansal.
In May, Punjab and Haryana high court Chief Justice Sheel Nagu orally hinted at possible “bench hunting” before recusing from hearing the case. Justice Manjari Nehru Kaul is now hearing the matter.
The Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana on August 4 constituted a committee to probe allegations of bench hunting. It issued notice to 16 lawyers, including some senior advocates who have knowledge of the matter and appeared in the case.
