Interim bail for former Haryana CM Chautala

Noting his old age, the Delhi high court on Wednesday suspended the four-year-jail term handed to former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala in a disproportionate assets case.

Noting his old age, the Delhi high court on Wednesday suspended the four-year-jail term handed to former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala in a disproportionate assets case.

INLD supremo and former Haryana chief minister OP Chautala  (HT File)

While granting him interim bail till the pendency of his appeal, Justice Yogesh Khanna noted that Chautala admittedly spent about one year and six months in custody and the appeal might take some time to come on board for a hearing.

The court said that the suspension of sentence is subject to the payment of a fine of ₹50 lakh imposed by the trial court as well as the execution of a personal bond of ₹five lakh with one surety of like amount.

“Thus, considering the age of the appellant being 88 years and that in any case, admittedly, he has spent about one year and six months in custody as per nominal roll dated July 21, and further that in any case he remained in custody even after his bail bonds were accepted in the present matter; thus as the appeal may take some time to come on board for hearing…,” the court said while releasing Chautala on bail.

The judge directed that the former CM could not visit abroad without the permission of the trial court.

“The sentence of the appellant/applicant (Chautala) is suspended till the pendency of the present appeal, subject to payment of a fine of ₹50 lakh as imposed by the learned trial court and also on his executing a personal bond of ₹50 lakh with one surety of like amount to the satisfaction of the trial court,” said the court in its order released on Wednesday.

The court also noted that although Chautala was granted bail in the present case and furnished the bail bonds, he remained in custody and was never released from jail because of the sentence awarded in another case.

On May 27, the trial court convicted 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 high court had reserved an order earlier this week on a plea by Chautala seeking suspension of the four-year sentence imposed on him in connection with his conviction in the case.

The CBI had filed the case in 2005, and a charge sheet was filed on March 26, 2010, accusing him of amassing assets disproportionate to his legitimate income, between 1993 and 2006.

According to the CBI’s FIR Chautala, while functioning as Chief Minister of Haryana during the period from July 24, 1999, to March 5, 2005, in collusion with his family members and others, accumulated assets, immovable and movable, disproportionate to his known lawful sources of income, in his name, in the names of his family members.