A local court in Chandigarh on Wednesday sent suspended civil judge S S Bhardwaj, allegedly involved in a graft case, to the custody of the Central Bureau Of Investigation till June 14.
Chief Judicial Magistrate C L Mohal handed down the order in a packed courtroom after hearing arguments from the petitioner and the prosecution.
Bhardwaj is alleged involved in a graft case and was caught while accepting a bribe of Rs 700,000 for himself and district and sessions judge of Jhalandar, R M Gupta, who is already in judicial custody.
The court allowed Bhardwaj to meet his counsel and relatives twice a day. He would also be examined medically every 48 hours.
A senior CBI official told reporters outside the court premises that the remand period was 'sufficient' for the agency to interrogate the suspended judge.
Bhardwaj argued his case himself in the court, which witnessed some noisy scenes between the lawyers and the prosecution side.
The prosecution sought 10 days of CBI custody to recover the mobile phone used by Bhardwaj while talking to co-accused Gupta.
The prosecution also said they wanted to check a few of his lockers in Ferozepur.
Bhardwaj, however, said he had already surrendered his mobile phone to the CBI and the locker at Ferozepur could have been opened anytime during the past one month.
Bhardwaj claimed he had 'surrendered' before the CBI in their office and was 'not arrested' as maintained by the investigating agency.
