That the ongoing multi crore provident fund scam which has seen the involvement of a large number of members of the judiciary is seen as a large mark of shame, is no secret. Now the Attorney General of India, G.E. Vahanvati has spoken out on the scam stating, “If there is a case in the last two or three years which has shaken the confidence of people in the judiciary, it is this case.”

The Times of India reports that arguing on behalf of the CBI before a Supreme Court Bench comprising of Justices D.K. Jain, V.S. Sirpurkar and G.S. Singhvi, the AG argued that it is imperative that the case be transferred from Ghaziabad to Delhi saying, “In this case, justice should not only be done but seem to be done.” 

In July this year, the CBI had dealt a huge blow to the judiciary in the case relating to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 6.58 crore ($1.4 million) from the PF accounts of class III and IV employees in the Ghaziabad district court. The accused also included few judges who went on to be elevated to the Allahabad High Court.

The PF scam was spread from the year 2001 to 2008 with the accused Ashutosh Asthana as treasury officer playing a key role. The whistle on the scam was blown by the special judge of Ghaziabad, Rama Jain, who filed a complaint on February 15, 2008. Asthana died under mysterious circumstances in Dasana jail in September last year. 

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