Former Orissa High Court judge accused of money laundering by the Enforcement Directorate

Former Orissa High Court judge I M Quddusi and five others have been accused of money laundering by the Enforcement Directorate be for carrying court proceedings in order to permit admission rights to a medical college in Lucknow.

Quddusi and five others were arrested on September 20 by the agency after conducting a thorough search.

Reports say that the findings revealed that Quddudsi and his associates had requested for Rs. 3 crore from the medical college - Prasad Institute of Medical Sciences, to get a favorable judicial order.

The five others arrested were B P Yadav and Palash Yadav, promoters of the medical college; alleged middleman Biswanath Agrawal; alleged hawala operator Ram Dev Saraswat; and Bhawana Pandey, Quddusi’s alleged associate.

According to reports, the officials have said that it was their 'going rate' and have also taken money from other people in order for them to get results in their favor.

The CBI and ED have found 80 phone interfaces where the ex-judge is heard speaking about the case.

The CBI has also recovered Rs. 1.86 crore cash and documents from Quddusi which are being investigated and looking into statements recorded by all the witness, reports stated.

According to reports, all the accused are out on bail. The CBI had reportedly questioned Quddusi twice after the bail and said that he allegedly got 'one installment of the gratification from the accused BP Yadav.'

Conducting further custody of Quddusi and Yadav, the CBI has claimed that 'further interrogation would be required to understand how the gratification was paid, by whom and the means of transaction.'

Quddusi’s lawyer Vijay Aggarwal did not comment on any updates and accusations made against the ex-judge.

The CBI FIR alleged that two promoters of the medical college were prohibited from admitting students for two years, had approached Quddusi, who allegedly promised relief in exchange for bribes to influential people.