New Delhi, Nov 19 (ANI): Former Telecom Minister Sukhram, convicted for taking Rs. 3 lakhs as bribe to give a lucrative contract to a private firm in 1996, today pleaded for leniency in a Delhi court on grounds of his old age.
Sukhram, 86, a cabinet colleague of Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao, was held guilty on Thursday under various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code. Various offences under which he has been convicted entail a maximum sentence of seven-year jail term.
Appearing for Sukhram, his counsel pleaded to Special Judge R C Pandey, "I (Sukhram) am an 86-year-old person and attending the trial for past 12 to 13 years. I suffer from old age-related ailments and have lost my wife. Therefore, a lenient view may be taken."
Responding to this, the CBI prosecutor argued that Sukhram is a "habitual offender" as he has been sentenced in two other cases also and deserves no leniency.
The CBI, in its charge sheet filed in 1998, had accused Sukhram of showing undue favour in awarding the cable supply contract to HTL. Sukhram had been put on trial along with HTL chairman Devinder Singh Choudhary who died during the trial.
In 2009, Sukhram had been held guilty of possessing disproportionate assets worth Rs. 4.25 crore.
In 2002, he was awarded a three-year jail term under the Prevention of Corruption Act in a separate case relating to equipment supply for causing a loss of Rs. 1.66 crore to the state exchequer. (ANI),
Sukhram was one of the pioneers, the Christopher Columbus of Telecom Scams.
He showed the way to others like Pramod Mahajan, Dayanidhi Maran and A Raja.
I agree with Sukhram that because of his old age, he should be shown leniency.
However, all his property of value equal to the loss he has caused to the exchequer with interest should be confiscated.
This should also be applicable to Dayanidhi Maran, Suresh Kalamadi and others who are presently standing trial.
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