Former Haryana CM Om Prakash Chautala gets 4 years jail in disproportionate assets case

The Court ordered to confiscate four properties of him and also imposed a fine of Rs 50 lakh.

Special Judge Vikas Dhull on Friday sentenced four years imprisonment to Om Prakash Chautala and ordered immediately to send him to the custody of Tihar Jail.

According to the order passed by the court, out of Rs 50 lakh fine amount of Rs 5 lakh would be given to the CBI from that. The court also refused to grant 10 days' time to surrender to Chautala as requested by his lawyer Harsh Sharma.

On Thursday, after concluding the arguments both sides said the order of sentences will be passed today.

During the argument on Thursday, OP Chautala physically appeared and remained present in the courtroom.

Appearing for OP Chautala, Advocate Harsh Sharma cited medical grounds for less punishment and submitted that Chautala had been afflicted with polio since birth, and was partially disabled.

Chautala is accused of acquiring disproportionate assets from 1993-to 2006.

This time is more than 20 years. In the meantime, he has always cooperated in the investigation, Advocate Sharma argued.

CBI's Special Public Prosecutor Ajay Gupta opposed the submissions of Chautala's lawyer for a grant of concession on the ground of ill-health and age.

CBI had urged the court for maximum punishment shall be given as it would send a message to the society. "The person, in this case, is a public figure and giving minimum punishment would send a wrong message. He is not having clean antecedents. It is the second case in which he has been convicted," CBI said.

Special Judge (PC Act) Vikas Dhull last week had convicted Chautala and said the accused had failed to satisfactorily account for such dis-proportionality by proving his source of income or means by way of which, he acquired assets during this period.

"Hence, accused Om Prakash Chautala is convicted for the offence under Section 13(1)(e) read with 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Put up 26.05.2022 at 10.00 a.m. for arguments on the point of sentence," said the court.

According to the CBI's FIR, Om Prakash 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 and others to the extent of Rs.1,467 crore.

FIR further stated that the accused accumulated enormous wealth and invested the same throughout the country in the shape of thousands of acres of land, multi complexes, palatial residential houses, hotels, farmhouses, business agencies, petrol pumps and other investments apart from investments in foreign countries.

FIR also stated that 43 immovable properties in all, apart from cash and jewellery were accumulated. Apart from 43 alleged properties listed in the FIR, additional properties were also suspected to be of the accused family.

An investigation with regard to additional properties was also conducted for ascertaining the link of the accused family with the said properties.

The chargesheet filed in the matter after the conclusion of the investigation stated that accused OP Chautala had acquired assets, both immovable and movable, which were disproportionate to his known source of income.

The disproportionate assets were calculated to be Rs 6,09,79,026 (Rupees Six Crore Nine Lakh Seventy Nine Thousand and Twenty Six only) and the percentage of DA (Disproportionate Assets) was 189.11 per cent of his known sources of income.

Accordingly, CBI had chargesheeted the accused for the offence under Section 13(1)(e) read with 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Apart from the charge sheet filed against the accused OP Chautala, the CBI had filed two more charge sheets arising out of the present FIR, against the sons of the accused i.e. Abhay Singh Chautala and Ajay Singh Chautala and others, which are being tried separately.

Om Prakash Chautala is from the Indian National Lok Dal and son of sixth Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhary Devi Lal.

Chautala was recently released from the Tihar Jail on July 2, 2021, from a 10 year prison sentence after completing the due formalities.

He and 53 others, in June 2008, were charged in connection with the appointment of 3,206 junior basic teachers in the state of Haryana during 1999-to 2000.

In January 2013, a New Delhi court sentenced Chautala and his son Ajay Singh Chautala to 10 years imprisonment under various provisions of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act. (ANI)