HC suspends OP Chautala's 4-year sentence in disproportionate assets case

The Delhi High Court has suspended the four-year sentence awarded to former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala during the pendency of his appeal against the conviction in a disproportionate assets (DA) case.

Justice Yogesh Khanna while granting bail to the 88-year-old politician said that the suspension of sentence is subject to the payment of a fine of Rs 50 lakh imposed by the trial court as well as the execution of a personal bond of Rs five lakh with one surety of like amount.

The court 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 sentence of the appellant/applicant (Chautala) is suspended till the pendency of the present appeal, subject to payment of a fine of Rs.50.00 Lacs as imposed by the learned Trial Court and also on his executing a personal bond of Rs.5.00 Lacs with one surety of like amount to the satisfaction of the learned Trial Court. The appellant shall not visit abroad except with the permission of the learned Trial Court," said the court in its order released on Wednesday.

In the order, the court also noted that although Chautala was granted bail in the present case and furnished the bail bonds but 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 Rs 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.