The Delhi High Court has suspended the four-year sentence awarded to former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala during the pendency of his appeal against the conviction in a disproportionate assets (DA) case.
Justice Yogesh Khanna while granting bail to the 88-year-old politician said that the suspension of four-year sentence was subject to him paying a fine of ₹50 lakh as well as the execution of a personal bond of ₹5 lakh with one surety of like amount.
The high court noted that although Mr. Chautala was granted bail in the present case and furnished the bail bonds but he remained in custody and was never released from jail because of the sentence awarded in another case.
The high court considered the age of Mr. Chautala while granting him bail and also noted that he has admittedly spent about one year and six months in custody in this case. It also factored in the fact that the appeal might take some time to come on board for a hearing.
“The appellant [Mr. Chautala] shall not visit abroad except with the permission of the Trial Court,” the high court said in its order released on Wednesday.
In his plea seeking suspension of sentence, Mr. Chautala’s counsel stated that he is suffering from post-polio disability.
On May 27, a trial court here convicted Mr. Chautala and awarded a four-year jail term to him while also imposing a fine of ₹50 lakh for acquiring disproportionate assets from 1993 to 2006.
The CBI said that it had registered the case against Mr. Chautala and others in April 2006, on allegations that during his time as the CM of Haryana (between July 24, 1999 to March 5, 2005) he had colluded with his family members and others to accumulate assets disproportionate to his known sources of income, in his name and in the names of his family members and others.
Published - August 04, 2022 05:15 am IST
