Former CBI Judge and Real Estate MD booked in corruption case

Former special judge of the CBI/ED court in Panchkula, Sudhir Parmar, his nephew Ajay Parmar, and real estate company M3M managing director Roop Bansal have been booked in a corruption case registered at the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) police station in Panchkula. The FIR alleges that Parmar accepted bribes through his nephew, who also worked for M3M, to curry favour to Roop and Basant Bansal, the owners of M3M, and Lalit Goyal of IRE in cases pending in Panchkula's CBI/ED court. Parmar has been booked under Sections 7, 8, and 11 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and IPC Section 120 B for criminal misconduct and bribery.

According to the FIR, Parmar came in contact with the Bansals when he was additional district and sessions judge in Gurgaon. He got his nephew, Ajay Parmar, appointed as a legal adviser to M3M with a pay package of Rs 12 lakh per annum. The nephew's annual salary was raised to Rs 18-20 lakh after Parmar joined as a special CBI judge and special judge for the ED's Prevention of Money Laundering Act cases in Panchkula.

The FIR highlights an instance when the suspended judge allegedly demands Rs 5-7 crore to help the M3M owners in ED cases and requests the person chatting with him to receive the bribe on his behalf. In the same chat, the person says that Rs 5 crore has already been given to Parmar by the accused in the IREO case, the FIR adds.

The FIR also claims that Parmar was planning to extort money from former Haryana bureaucrat T C Gupta, facing trial in a CBI case for actions during his stint as director-general of the town and country planning department. The FIR claims Parmar had roped in a sacked judicial officer, VP Gupta, for this purpose. The ACB had sought permission from the Punjab and Haryana High Court in February to register a case and had attached some records to support its contentions.

The HC gave its go-ahead, and the FIR was registered on April 17. Parmar was suspended on April 27 and replaced by Rajeev Goyal as special judge for the Panchkula CBI and ED court. The ACB had raided Parmar's official residence on April 18.

The real estate industry has been marred by several corruption cases over the years. In India, one of the most notable cases was the Adarsh Housing Society scam in Mumbai, where politicians, bureaucrats, and military officials colluded to construct a high-rise building on land designated for the welfare of war widows. The scam involved the illegal acquisition of land and the construction of a building without proper permits, resulting in the demolition of the building and a series of investigations and criminal cases.

Another high-profile case in India involved the DLF group, a major real estate developer, and its alleged involvement in land grab and illegal allocation of licenses. The company was accused of colluding with politicians and government officials to acquire land at below-market rates and obtain licenses through corrupt means. The case led to the imposition of a penalty on the company by the Competition Commission of India and a series of investigations by various government agencies.

Overall, corruption in the real estate industry has been a persistent problem, with high stakes and complex regulations providing fertile ground for unethical practices. While regulatory bodies and law enforcement agencies have made efforts to curb corruption and hold wrongdoers accountable, the industry remains vulnerable to corruption and the need for continued vigilance and reform.

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Former CBI Judge and Real Estate MD booked in corruption case

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