Impacts public trust in judicial system: Punjab & Haryana High Court denies bail to lawyer booked for bribery

When an advocate solicits or accepts illegal gratification under the pretext of influencing a judicial outcome, it is a "sacrilegious affront to the judiciary as an institution", the Punjab and Haryana High Court observed recently [Jatin Salwan v. Central Bureau of Investigation]

Justice Sumeet Goel added that it is the Court's duty to treat such transgressions as an existential threat to the sanctity of the institution.

"Where corruption takes roots, the Rule of Law is replaced by the Rule of Transaction. An age old adage— 'Among a people generally corrupt, liberty cannot last long.'- cautions about the moral decay the menace of corruption presents, it assumes a more harrowing significance when the menace of corruption casts a shadow over the judiciary; an institution whose very lifeblood is the unswerving faith and confidence placed in it by the common populace," the Court said.

The Court made these observations while denying bail to one Advocate Jatin Salwan, aged about 70 years, in a case registered against him under the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

He was arrested last year following a complaint that he demanded ₹30 lakh for securing a favourable order in a divorce matter pending before a trial court in Bathinda. Salwan had allegedly claimed that he could influence the judicial officer hearing the case. A part of the demanded money was later accepted by a co-accused.

In the order passed on February 2, the Court said that the allegations against Salwan are serious in nature. Such allegations, if found true, do not affect only the complainant, but also have a wider impact on public trust in the justice delivery system, it added.

"The recorded conversations, the verification report, and the trap proceedings prima facie indicate a demand for illegal gratification and the collection of part of the bribe amount through a co-accused," the Bench opined.

The Court rejected the petitioner's argument that he was not a public servant, stating that Section 7-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act squarely covers any person who accepts or obtains undue advantage to influence a public servant by corrupt or illegal means.

Considering the nature of allegations against Salwan, the potential impact on justice delivery system, his involvement in another case and the larger public interest, the Court denied bail to the accused lawyer.

However, the Court gave the accused liberty to move for regular bail afresh after the complainant and victim are examined by the trial court.

Senior Advocates RS Cheema and SS Narula, with Advocate Sandeep Sharma represented the petitioner.

Special Public Prosecutor Akashdeep Singh appeared for the CBI.

[Read Order]