Before becoming a judge, Sabharwal was an advocate at the Tis Hazari court, while his mother Kamlesh Sabharwal was a commercial sub-judge. The two allegedly conspired to grab 227 sq mts of land at C-7 Hauz Khas, owned by an NRI, Girdhari Lal.

On April 22, 1993 a suit was filed in Sabharwal's court, through Dinesh, on behalf of one Madan Lal Dua. It was later revealed that Dua was fictitious and the people involved were Ramesh and Subhash Chand. Dinesh had allegedly asked for Rs 5 lakh to get a decree passed in their favour. Sabharwal issued a notice and passed an order in favour of Madan Lal the same day.

The NRI filed an affidavit and an investigation was ordered.