The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain the appeals filed by former Haryana Chief Minister O.P. Chautala, his son, and other accused against their conviction in the teachers' recruitment case.
The dismissal of the appeals serves a severe blow to 80-year-old Chautala, who has been sentenced to serve a jail term of 10 years in the case.
"We are not inclined to entertain any of these appeals and they are dismissed," a bench of Justices F.M.I Kalifulla and Shiva Kirti Singh observed at the outset of the hearing.
Dismissing the appeals, including that of his son, Ajay Singh Chautala and three others, the apex court said the Delhi High Court judgment of March 5, upholding the 10-year prison sentence is a "reasoned one" and there is no reason to intervene further.
"The overwhelming evidence showed the shocking and spine-chilling state of affairs in the country," the High Court had observed.
The Bench however gave them liberty to move the high court for parole on health grounds.
The Chautalas and 53 others, including two IAS officers, were convicted on January 16, 2013 by the trial court for illegally recruiting 3,206 junior basic trained (JBT) teachers in Haryana in 2000.
All the 55 convicts were found guilty under various offences, including conspiracy, cheating, forgery and under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
