BCI bribery case: CBI judge held hostage by lawyers

Official sources said judge O P Saini was also verbally abused by some 40-50 lawyers, who had gathered in the Patiala House courts in support of the accused who was allegedly caught while taking bribe for granting affiliation to a law college in Ghaziabad.

The incident happened on December 23 when Saini dismissed the bail plea of BCI member Rajendra Singh Rana, who was arrested by the CBI three days earlier.

Upset over denial of bail to Rana, the lawyers led by some senior advocates kept the judge confined to his room and raised slogans besides hurling abuses.

They even tried to attack and manhandle CBI officials present there, the sources said.
Noticing the situation, some of the officials called the Registrar General of Delhi High
Court after which additional police personnel were rushed to the courts, they said.

The judge had rejected Rana's bail plea saying that "the probe is at its initial stage".

The CBI had on December 20 arrested Rana along with Manish Tyagi, one of the members of the advisory body of the Global Law College, Ghaziabad.

A mob of 30-40 persons led by president of a bar association, had at that time allegedly "manhandled" a team of agency sleuths at Rana's residence and snatched away the seized documents and cash, the CBI had said. It had filed an FIR with Maurya Enclave police station against three people including lawyers.

Rana was allegedly taking bribe of Rs one lakh from Tyagi for giving a favourable inspection report of the college.

The agency had also raided seven places in and around Delhi, including Rana's office and the college premises.

The CBI had said it had been monitoring Rana's telephone calls and had swooped on his Pitampura residence in north Delhi on December 20 evening when another advocate had arrived there with the file of the law college.

Rana was elected to the state Bar Council of Delhi in 1998 and became its Vice Chairman in 2000. In 2010, he was elected to the Bar Council of India.

Both Rana and Tyagi are in judicial custody till January 6.

"Considering the serious nature of the allegations... recovery of Rs 1 lakh on the spot and incriminating material figuring in the transcription (of taped conversation) and other documents, I find that the prayer for police custody remand is justified," the court had observed.

The accused filed an appeal in the Delhi High Court which had on December 24 sought response from the CBI on Rana's bail plea.

Justice Mukta Gupta had issued a notice to CBI and sought its reply by December 29 on Rana's submission that he was entitled for bail as his custodial interrogation by the CBI was over and verification of relevant documents are complete.

Meanwhile, the CBI has also registered a case against Bar Council of India Vice Chairman R Dhanpal Raj, whose house was also searched in connection with the case.