Written by Mohamed ThaverMumbai | November 14, 2025 01:19 AM IST 4 min readIn September this year, Vasudev contacted the complainant and told him the judge would rule in their favour in exchange of Rs 25 lakh bribe. When the complainant did not respond positively, he allegedly contacted the complainant several times on the phone.The Additional Sessions Judge named as an accused by Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in a bribery case was unaware that his clerk-cum-typist Chandrakant Vasudev has been trapped by ACB while allegedly accepting Rs 15 lakh bribe at his behest till the next day when he was headed to court.Sources indicated that the judge sent messages and called up the clerk a couple of times in the morning before heading to court asking his whereabouts. It was later that he realised that the clerk had been arrested.Sources said the judge was out of the city when his clerk Vasudev called him on Tuesday evening allegedly informing that a bribe amount of Rs 15 lakh had been received from a party whose case the judge was hearing.Story continues below this adThe judge, as per ACB statement, acknowledged the receipt. The judge then asked the clerk to come the next day.Meanwhile, the ACB Thursday got permission to carry out house search of the Additional Sessions Judge. However, when the team reached the Churchgate government quarters, the door was locked.The team then sealed the lock and posted a constable outside the house. The ACB is likely to approach the relevant authority seeking permission to arrest the judge. ACB also carried out house search of Vasudev at his Uran residence.In the past year, this is the second case in which a judge has been named as an accused. In December last year, Additional Sessions Judge, Satara, Dhananjay Nikam had been named as an accused in a corruption case for allegedly demanding Rs 5 lakh from a woman to release her father on bail who was lodged behind bars. Incidentally last month, Bombay High Court dismissed the judge.Story continues below this adThe ACB in a statement on Wednesday said they had arrested Vasudev after he was caught red handed accepting a bribe of Rs 15 lakh from a complainant. He told ACB he accepted the bribe on behalf of the judge who was hearing the matter involving the complainant to rule in his favour.The complainant’s wife had earlier filed a petition in the Bombay High Court in 2015 regarding the forcible possession of the company’s land. Since the high court does not deal with cases that are worth less than Rs 10 crore, it transferred the matter to a civil sessions court as a commercial suit in March 2024 where the accused judge was hearing the matter.In September this year, Vasudev contacted the complainant and told him the judge would rule in their favour in exchange of Rs 25 lakh bribe. When the complainant did not respond positively, he allegedly contacted the complainant several times on the phone.Eventually, the complainant approached the ACB, as he did not want to pay the bribe. The ACB verified his complaint following which they laid a trap on Tuesday evening.Story continues below this adThey asked the complainant to carry dummy notes of Rs 15 lakh. As soon as Vasudev accepted it, he was detained.Vasudev was then asked by ACB to go ahead with their alleged original plan by which he was to call up the judge and inform that the money had been received. The judge responded in the affirmative and informed him he was out of the city and may collect the cash the next day. Based on this recorded conversation, the ACB named the judge as an accused in the case.Vasudev was produced before the court on Wednesday evening and was remanded to police custody for five days. Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Mumbai