A Rouse Avenue court on Friday awarded a four-year jail term to former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala in a disproportionate assets (DA) case. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50 lakh on 87-year-old Chautala and ordered the seizure of four of his properties.
In his judgment convicting Chautala, Special Judge Vikas Dhull noted that the accused had acquired disproportionate assets to the tune of 103 per cent of the known sources of income.
According to the order passed by the court, out of the Rs 50 lakh fine amount of Rs 5 lakh would be given to the CBI from that.
The court also refused to grant Chautala 10 days’ time to surrender as requested by his lawyer Harsh Sharma.
“Disproportionate assets acquired by the accused, during the check period, were to the tune of 103 per cent of the known sources of his income. The accused has failed to satisfactorily account for such disproportionality by proving his source of income or means by way of which he acquired assets during the check period,” the court said.
Chautala, who appeared physically and was present in the courtroom , was found guilty under Section 13(1)(e) read with 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act.
After the conviction, his son Abhay Singh Chautala said he believes in the Indian justice system and hopes to get justice in the High Court. “We’re speaking about the verdict with our lawyers. OP Chautala is a strong, courageous man. He has seen several highs & lows. We believe in the Indian justice system & hope to get justice in the High Court,” the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader said.
During the hearing, Chautala’s lawyers had requested the court to pass a lenient sentence considering his medical condition. However, the CBI opposed the submissions of Chautala’s lawyer seeking a grant of concession on the ground of ill health and age. The agency had pushed for maximum punishment for Chautala stating that 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 does not have clean antecedents. It is the second case in which he has been convicted,” the CBI said.
The court had last week convicted Chautala and said the accused had failed to satisfactorily account for such disproportionality by proving his source of income or means by which, he acquired assets during this period.
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. The disproportionate assets were calculated to be Rs 6.09 crore, 189.11 per cent of his known sources of income.
