Bombay High Court Dismisses Two Lower Court Judges For Misconduct
Satara district and sessions judge Dhananjay Nikam has been accused of demanding a Rs five-lakh bribe, and civil judge Irfan Shaikh misappropriated seized narcotic substances.
Published : October 4, 2025 at 5:23 PM IST
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has dismissed two lower court judges for bribery and behaviour unbecoming of a judicial officer. The decision to dismiss additional sessions judge Dhananjay Nikam and civil judge Irfan Shaikh was taken following an inquiry by a disciplinary committee.
While Nikam has been accused of bribery, Shaikh, who presided over cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, allegedly indulged in corruption and misappropriated narcotic substances seized during investigations. Shaikh was also arrested during the raid at Cordellia Cruise, in which Aryan Khan, son of actor Shah Rukh Khan, was also implicated. However, the team of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) didn't implicate him in the case. A petition filed in the high court against Shaikh is still pending.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) had registered a case against Nikam, Satara district and sessions judge, for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs five lakh to grant bail in a cheating case. In January, he approached the high court seeking anticipatory bail, claiming that he was innocent and had been implicated in the case. His pre-arrest bail was denied by the HC in March.
As per the complaint lodged by a woman, her father, a civilian defence employee, is in judicial custody for allegedly cheating someone under the pretext of offering a government job. After his bail was denied by a lower court, the woman filed a fresh bail application in the Satara sessions court, which was heard by Nikam.
The ACB sleuths have alleged that one Kishor Sambhaji Kharat from Mumbai and Anand Mohan Kharat from Satara demanded Rs five lakh from the woman at Nikam's behest for a favourable order. The agency claimed that the bribe demand was verified during their investigation between December 3 and 9, 2024, confirming that Nikam, in collusion with the Kharats, sought the bribe.
The ACB has booked Nikam, the Kharats, and an unidentified individual under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Also Read
