New Delhi, May 26 -- What began as a routine GST fraud probe and arrest in August last year has exploded into a high-stakes standoff between Delhi's judiciary and its Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB), with allegations of bail-for-bribe deals, retaliation against a judge, and fabrication of evidence.

At the center is Mukesh Kumar, an ahlmad (record keeper) formerly posted at a Special Court at Rouse Avenue at court room number 608, who now faces serious corruption charges - and who, in turn, has accused ACB officers of orchestrating a vendetta campaign to target a presiding judge critical of their investigations.

This development comes just days after a separate controversy rocked the national capital involving Justice Yashwant Varma of the ...