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Dismissed judge remanded to custody till Jan 31

Dismissed judge J W Singh, facing charge of alleged nexus with underworld, was Wednesdy remanded to judicial custody till January 31 by a special court which allowed his plea for English translation of a transcript of telephonic talks on the basis of which he had been booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.

The court directed the prosecution and defence to place on record English translation of the Hindi transcript of three telephonic talks between the accused, deceased lawyer Liyakat Ali Shaikh and Karachi-based gangster Chhota Shakeel which allegedly reveal that the former judge had 'hired' goons in 1999 to recover his chit fund money from Sardarsingh Abrol.

The designated judge A P Bhangale has asked both the sides to submit their versions of these talks because the contents of the cassettes have become a bone of contention between them. While police are relying on these as evidence, Singh has disputed the alleged contents on the basis of discrepancies pointed out by the registrar.

On a plea made by the accused, the court had directed the registrar to hear the cassettes and prepare a transcript. Singh has alleged that versions of police and registrar do not tally.

Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam assured the court that police would submit the English translation of the transcript as early as possible.

Meanwhile, Singh's plea for bail would come up for hearing before the Bombay high court on January 23. The accused has contended that this was his first independent bail plea.

Earlier, he had urged for quashing of proceedings under a stringent act and pressed for bail only as a secondary relief.

Singh has pleaded that new facts have now emerged before the trial court which reveal 'defects' in the prosecution's evidence on the basis of he had been booked under MCOCA.

PTI

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