Judicial Corruption Case: Court Holds Fake Investigation

Judicial Corruption Case: Court Holds Fake Investigation

While judicial corruption is already rampant in India, the High Court of Delhi has encouraged corruption by holding a perfunctory investigation in this case.

By Rakesh Raman

Note: Some references and dates have been masked in the following writeup to maintain the necessary confidentiality in this case.

This case is part of a citywide construction-cum-corruption racket which is being run by local criminals who operate as management committee (MC) members of housing societies in Delhi. 

The MC members collude with crooked politicians, corrupt bureaucrats, complicit police officials, dishonest members of judiciary, and builders’ mafia to commit this crime. 

Since the High Court of Delhi closed this case surreptitiously, I sent an RTI application and a letter through the Department of Law, Justice & Legislative Affairs of Delhi Government to know the details of the court decision. 

In response to my letter, the High Court of Delhi sent me a sketchy letter which does not reply to any of my queries properly. It did not share with me the names of the Vigilance Committee judges and surprisingly the court did not make any communication with the accused judge Mr. Manish Khurana regarding the complaint that I have filed against him.

Moreover, the court gave me a vague reply about the current responsibility of judge Mr. Manish Khurana and closed the case surreptitiously. In other words, the High Court of Delhi has provided full impunity to judge Mr. Manish Khurana.

While judicial corruption is already rampant in India, the High Court of Delhi has encouraged corruption by holding a perfunctory investigation in this case.

However, I am in the process of exploring other options so that the accused judge Mr. Manish Khurana gets prosecuted and punished. 

Rakesh Raman

My previous letter is reproduced below.

To                                                                                                     October 24, 2023

The Public Information Officer (PIO), High Court of Delhi

Subject: RTI Application to Seek Information under the Right to Information Act 

Name of the Applicant: Rakesh Raman

Dear PIO at the High Court of Delhi,

Please refer to the High Court of Delhi letter No. XXX/XXXX/DHJS/Vig-II/2023 dated XX.XX.2023 (reproduced below as Exhibit-1) regarding the corruption case of  judge Mr. Manish Khurana against whom I had filed the complaint as a victim of his corrupt acts. 

In response to my complaint, the Registrar Vigilance of Delhi High Court held a video conference with me on XX.XX.2023 to record my statement. I had given my statement which was emailed to me for approval. 

Case Details: You can also click here to read the case details.

In this regard, please provide me with the following details under the RTI Act:

1. Give me the names and designations of the Vigilance Committee judges who participated in the meeting that took place on XX.XX.2023 and inform me about the duration of this meeting.

2. Let me know if the accused Mr. Manish Khurana was informed about the complaint that I had filed against him. If yes, provide me with all the communications that the High Court of Delhi had with Mr. Manish Khurana and his response(s).

3. Let me know which facts of my complaint and the recorded statement did the Vigilance Committee judges consider in their meeting and let me know the basis on which they discarded those facts.

4. Provide me with the speaking order of the Vigilance Committee judges (including the Chief Justice) which must explain each and every point that led them to take such a decision in favour of Mr. Manish Khurana. 

5. Let me know the present status including the current responsibility of Mr. Manish Khurana against whom I have filed the complaint. 

But as explained above, I received only a vague reply from the High Court of Delhi.

[ You can also click here to download and read India Corruption Research Report 2023 ]

By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of the humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society. He has also been publishing The Integrity Bulletin news magazine since 2018 to cover local and international corruption issues to engage with different stakeholders who are trying to combat corruption in the world.