As CBI Widens Its Probe, Almost All Telecom Decisions Under Cloud
NewDelhi:In a season of lowtolerancefor politicians involved in corruption, 86-yearold former telecom minister Sukhram was handed a five-year sentence for accepting a Rs 3-lakh bribe in 1996 with the trial court rejecting advanced age as a ground for a more lenient view.
By Saturday evening, Sukhram was in Tihar in the company of DMK leader A Raja, another former telecom minister in jail for alleged complicity in the 2G scam. Sukhram isfighting conviction in another case of massive cash recoveries from his residence when he was telecom minister for which he has received bail.
Special CBI judge R P Pandey underlined reasons for the sentence, saying, “A corrupt publicservantis a menacetosociety and brings society and his office into disrepute”, and added that courts could not be oblivious of the need to restore public confidence.
“The court cannot remain oblivious to the factum of shaken public confidence in the efficacy of law to deal with corruption, particularly when itisthequestion of tackling the corruption cases involving highranking public servants such as ministers and,therefore,thecourtcannot affordtobe excessive lenient with such convicts,” the judge said.
The judge also dipped into Kautliya’s A r t h a s h a s t r a, saying, “Whoever imposes severe punishment becomes repulsive to people while he who awards mild punishment becomes contemptible.” Pointing to the salutary effect of a tough sentence, the judge said, “When deserved punishment is given, it endows subjects with spiritual good, material well being and pleasure of senses.”
The court’s view is in keeping with the judiciary’s reluctancetolet politicians,bureaucrats and corporate bosses charged in graft cases off the hook easily with 2G accused like Raja.
Sentence ‘lenient’, youth assaults Sukhram
Sore over the “only” five-year jail term given to Sukhram, a Sikh youth on Saturday attacked the politician inside Rohini court complex shortly after the sentence was read out. Harvinder Singh, who was in the courtroom throughout, flung himself on the frail octogenarian. Singh was stopped by Sukhram’s grandson and his guards. “He committed such a crime and is awarded only five-year jail term,” screamed Singh as he was detained by cops.
Telecom connect: A Raja gets a new ward-mate
In a curious turn of events, Sukhram will share a prison ward in Tihar with another disgraced telecom minister, A Raja. The former DMK minister, accused of causing loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore in spectrum allocation, is housed in ward no. 8, jail no. 1 at Tihar. Sukhram will be given a separate cell here and, perhaps, a bed, given his age and health. Jail officials say Sukhram’s diet will include roti, dal and vegetables.
JOURNEY TO PRISON
Nov 19, 2011: CBI court sentences 86-year-old former telecom minister Sukhram to five years’ RI, sent to jail
THE CASE HE WAS CONVICTED IN
In 1995-96, Sukhram as minister in PV Narasimha Rao govt, took a bribe of Rs 3 lakh for a Rs 30 crore cable contract to Haryana Telecom Ltd CBI registered case in Nov 1996 Co-accused D S Choudhary, chairman HTL, died during trial CBI recovered the bribe Sukhram took during raids at his house in Mandi (HP) in 1996 Rs 11,651,520 stashed in suitcases seized. Rs 3 lakh in Rs 500 notes part of this booty A visiting card of D S Choudhary was found in an envelope
OTHER CASES AGAINST SUKHRAM
Feb 25, 2009: Sukhram sentenced to 3 years in a disproportionate assets case
2002 Sentenced to three years in jail in corruption case related to causing loss of Rs 1.66 crore in a contract to a Hyderabad firm, Advance Radio Masts Earlier convictions prove nail in the coffin for Sukhram
Sukhram’s political career was destroyed by the crores recovered from his house, although he has been hailed for making telephone services easily available to consumers through the PCO booths that spread in cities and rural areas in the mid-90s. But the cases stuck with a paltry Rs 3 lakh bribe,catching up 15 years after he was the minister. On Friday, the court had convicted Sukhram for misusing his official position as telecom minister in 1996 to award a contract worth Rs 30 crore to a private telecom firm for supply of cables to the telecom department, after receiving a bribe of Rs 3 lakh. Judge Pandey sentenced the leader from Himachal Pradesh to five years of rigorous imprisonment, holding him guilty under various sections of Prevention of Corruption Act and criminal conspiracy.
It also slapped a fine totalling to Rs 4 lakh on the politician. This is the first time that Sukhram has been sent to jail as a convict.
Though he has earlier been convicted in two separate corruption cases was not arrested and was granted bail immediately as under the law, a convict is entitled to statutory bail if his punishment is three years or less. Even as the octogenarian leader pleaded that “he was suffering from various old age-related diseases” and he had not misused relief granted in other cases, the court did notrelent. “The octogenarian convict has already reaped dividends of long drawn process of law, and despite having been convicted in two other corruption cases, he is still free, which is conveying a wrong message to the public at large, strengthening the popular belief that one can earn money by corrupt means and enjoy its fruits by ‘spending’ a portion of it,” the court said. As in the bail plea of 2G accused DMK MP Kanimozhi, the court took an adverse view of conventional legal arguments, saying his conviction in previous cases was an aggravating factor, warranting his arrest forthwith.
The judge said that Sukhram was holding a “very high position of respect and trust” as he was a member of Parliament and minister of state for Communications when he committed the offence of criminal conspiracy and corruption.
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