Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Sheel Nagu on Thursday recused himself from hearing a plea seeking to quash a bribery case against a trial court judge, citing prior involvement in the matter in an administrative capacity.

The case relates to allegations that Sudhir Parmar, a Special CBI/PMLA Judge, received bribes from real estate groups M3M and IREO in connection with a money laundering case. M3M Group Director Roop Bansal, one of the co-accused, has filed the plea for quashing the FIR registered by the Haryana Anti-Corruption Bureau.

Chief Justice Nagu had previously taken over the case after it was delisted from the bench of Justice Mahabir Singh Sindhu, who had reserved it for judgment. The matter has seen four judges assigned to it since January, raising eyebrows about judicial handling and case transfers.

In May, the petitioners objected to Chief Justice Nagu hearing the case, arguing that it had already been reserved by Justice Sindhu. But the Chief Justice had then passed a judicial order stating that there is no legal restriction preventing him from reassigning or hearing such matters.

However, in a notable shift, the Chief Justice has now chosen to step away from the case, days after denying a previous request by the petitioner to withdraw the plea.

According to the Enforcement Directorate, Judge Parmar allegedly accepted bribes worth ₹5–7 crore from the owners of M3M and IREO to grant them undue favours in the case.

Roop Bansal first approached the High Court in October 2023 to quash the FIR but withdrew his petition in January 2025. The current petition was filed shortly thereafter and has seen multiple senior advocates represent the parties involved.