NEW DELHI (TIP): A senior civil judge, her husband and a lawyer were arrested here on Thursday on charges of demanding a bribe of Rs 22 lakh from a person to settle a complaint in his favour.

Searches conducted at the residence of the judge, Rachna Tiwari Lakhanpal, led to the recovery of Rs 94 lakh in cash, two locker keys and several documents. Rachna, the senior civil judge (West) of Tis Hazari courts in Delhi, had appointed lawyer Vikas Mehal as the local commissioner for conducting an inspection of a disputed property and submitting a report.

The lawyer is claimed to have demanded a bribe of Rs two lakh for himself and Rs 20 lakh for the judge for deciding the matter in the favour of complainant, CBI sources said. As an initial payment, Rs five lakh was to be paid by the complainant. After the complainant approached the CBI, the investigators laid a trap. The lawyer was caught red-handed while reportedly accepting Rs five lakh as bribe on behalf of the judge.