HC upholds 10 yr jail term for Haryana ex-CM, son in JBT scam

Former Haryana Chief Minister O P Chautala and five others including his son were today awarded a decade-long jail term in the teachers' recruitment scam case by Delhi High Court which said "overwhelming evidence" showed the "shocking and spine-chilling" state of affairs in the country.
The court, which modified the trial court order on the quantum of sentence and awarded two-year jail term to 50 other convicts, asked Ajay Chautala, son of the 80-year-old Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) chief and former Chief Minister, and few others to surrender today before the prison authorities to serve the remaining sentence.
Justice Siddharth Mridul, in his 400-page verdict, said, "the facts of the present case as unfurled by the overwhelming evidence led by the prosecution at trial reveal a shocking and spine-chilling state of affairs prevalent in our country."

The bench, while upholding conviction and 10 year jail term to Chautala and others including whistleblower IAS officer Sanjiv Kumar, said "an ingenious employment scam spanning across 18 districts of State of Haryana was given effect to by persons at the helm of power and the entire bureaucratic machinery fell prey to its satanic influence".
Before pronouncing the verdict in a packed courtroom, the judge said "so, this is the end of the road. I can tell you that all the appeals have been dismissed."
Besides Chautalas and Sanjiv Kumar, the then Director of Primary Education, the court also awarded 10 year jail term to IAS officer Vidya Dhar, then officer on special duty (OSD) of the Chief Minister, and Sher Singh Badshami, then MLA and political adviser to Chautala senior.

The bench rejected the plea that leniency be shown to the INLD Chief as he is old and ailing.
"It may be argued that A-4 (Chautala) being an aged person, towards the tail end of his political career should be shown some mercy. It is for this very reason that I do not agree with this submission. The man was the Chief Minister of Haryana, capable of much hope and an inspiration to the youth of the State.
"Cheating them of their future deserves punishment of the highest kind. The appellant committee members also are all mostly senior citizens, respectable teachers either retired from government service or nearing retirement. A-4 has played a role in sharing their guilt as well.