JOIN USA Delhi court has put on trial former acting chairperson of the Company Law Board R Vasudevan and four others for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 7 lakh for giving a favourable order in a case.
Special Judge Swarana Kanta Sharma framed charges against Vasudevan, company secretary of a Hindi daily Manoj Kumar Banthia, Ankur Chawla, Vikas Shukla and Harshvardhan Lodha, a chartered accountant, under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
They have also been charged with criminal conspiracy under the IPC. All the five accused have pleaded not guilty and preferred to stand trial.
The proceedings against Atul Maheshwari, who was managing director of the daily, have abated following his death.
The court found prima facie evidence to proceed with the trial of Vasudevan and others, saying that telephone conversations recorded by CBI showed that he had accepted the bribe, which was recovered from his house during the probe.