HC suspends OP Chautala’s 4-year sentence in disproportionate assets case 

The high court considered the age of Om Prakash Chautala while granting him bail

August 04, 2022 05:15 am | Updated 01:29 pm IST

Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) chief Om Prakash Chautala addressing a media conference, in New Delhi on October 11, 2014. File

Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) chief Om Prakash Chautala addressing a media conference, in New Delhi on October 11, 2014. File | Photo Credit: V. Sudershan

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.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.