Money trail which led CBI to book retired judge of Allahabad high court in Disproportionate Assets case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has detected the money trail of tainted judge of Allahabad high court justice (retired) S N Shukla's ill-gotten assets.

Lucknow:The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probing the ill-gotten assets amassed by retired Allahabad high court judge justice SN Shukla, have revealed how the judge used a firm, and a couple of trusts to route the money to this family members. Sources said Shine City, a company involved in a shady deal, helped him carry out illegal transaction.

Inflated land deals-Shukla sold two prime land plots to the company at an exorbitant price, said sources. In 2014, the land plot costing over Rs 3.6 lakhs was sold to the company ten times the original price. The company paid more than Rs 30 lakh to the tainted judge. Whereas, another land plot costing Rs 3.1 lakh was sold to the company in 2017 for Rs 70 lakh, the source added quoting CBI probe findings.

Conversations-Himanshu Kumar from the Shine City had several telephonic conversations with the retired judge. These conversations were related to the sale and purchase of land plots. Once, Himanshu transferred Rs 80 lakh in the bank account of a trust at the behest of Shukla.

The trail- During the investigation, the CBI detected a money trail in the bank account of Shiv Shakti Dham Trust. The money from the trust was sent to the bank account of Saideen Tiwari's son. Saideen is the brother-in-law of retired judge Shukla. Saideen is the brother of Kesh Kumari, the retired high court judge's first wife.

The trust's bank account was used as a 'conduit' to channel ill-gotten wealth to Shuchita Tiwari, the retired judge's second wife. The CBI in its findings hinted that Rs 2.84 lakh was transferred to Shuchita's bank account between 2015 and 2017. Besides, Angel Group, registered as a social service organisation in the Faizabad, had transferred more than Rs 8 lakh to Shuchita's bank account between 2015 to 2020.

Disproportionate assets-The anti-corruption branch (Unit -2) of the CBI based in New Delhi had registered a case against the retired high court judge Shukla and his relatives. The case was registered against them, including judge Shukla, under the relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The retired high court judge, his first wife Kesh Kumari, second wife Shuchita, and brother in law Saideen were named as suspects and perpetrators in the Disproportionate Assets case FIR. The CBI report findings stated that the retired judge amassed ill-gotten wealth worth Rs 2.54 crores (which is 165 per cent more than the known sources of income) in the name of his family members between April 2014 and December 2019 when was the judge at the Allahabad bench of the Lucknow high court.