Judge recuses from hearing plea of UP's ex-babu in plot scam

A Supreme Court judge Justice R K Agrawal today recused himself from hearing the appeal against an Allahabad High Court order upholding the conviction of Uttar Pradesh's former chief secretary Neera Yadav in the Noida plot scam.
"Place the matter before another bench. List the matter for Friday," a bench comprising justices A K Sikri and R K Agrawal said.
As soon as the matter came up for hearing, Justice Sikri said that Justice Agrawal had expressed some reservation in the case and therefore the matter be listed before some other bench.
Yadav had surrendered on March 14 before a CBI court in Ghaziabad after her appeal was dismissed and conviction upheld by the Allahabad high court. She had moved the apex court challenging the Allahabad High Court order upholding her conviction and also sought bail.

A CBI court in Ghaziabad had convicted Yadav and senior IAS officer Rajeev Kumar in 2012 in a Noida plot scam that took place between 1994 and 1995 and sentenced them to three years' imprisonment.
Yadav was the CEO of Noida Authority at the time of scam and Kumar was her deputy.
The 1971 batch IAS officer, Yadav, who went on to become UP's first woman chief secretary during the Samajwadi's government in 2005, took voluntary retirement in 2008.
The CBI probe was ordered by the Supreme Court on a petition filed by one Noida Entrepreneurs Association in 1997.