On January 18 the collegium of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, headed by Chief Justice Vijender Kumar Jain, recommended the names of eight lawyers for elevation to the Bench.

One of the candidates recommended for HC judgeship is G S Cheema, whose name finds a mention in the statement of former Markfed officer Randhir Singh Gill alias Dheera, the main conduit for Ravinderpal Singh Sidhu, former chairman of Punjab Public Service Commission who allegedly masterminded and executed the jobs-for-cash scam. Dheera’s statement was made in court.

Dheera said Cheema had contacted him on behalf of two candidates willing to pay huge amounts of money to clear the coveted Punjab Civil Service (Executive Branch) exam. Dheera later turned approver and is the main prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of Sidhu. When contacted, Cheema, a law officer in the office of Advocate General, Punjab, refused to comment.

The Ravi Sidhu case, which had hit national headlines, was unearthed by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau in March 2002 and resulted in a number of PCS officers, including judicial officers, selected by the commision with Sidhu at the helm being thrown out of their jobs.

In his statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure made before Judicial Magistrate (First Class), Kharar, on May 15, 2002, Dheera had given details of all deals brokered by him. He struck to his statement before Bhupinder Singh, Special Judge-cum-Additional District and Sessions Judge, Patiala, in August 2006. He also provided details of 30 cases in which candidates were selected after money was paid to Sidhu through him.

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