25 February,2009 04:39 PM IST | | Agencies
Former Union Communications Minister Sukhram was on Wednesday sentenced to three years imprisonment by a Delhi Court for amassing disproportionate assets worth Rs 4.25 crore during his tenure in P V Narasimha Rao government.
The Court also imposed a fine of Rs two lakh on the former minister and ordered the forfeiture of his illegal assets worth Rs 4.25 crore.
However, Special CBI judge V K Maheshwari, granted bail to the 82-year-old Congress leader on furnishing a personal bond and surety of Rs 50,000 each.
The verdict was delivered in a packed courtroom here in the presence of the octogenarian politician from whose official house in Delhi Rs 2.45 crore in cash were recovered 13 years ago by a CBI team led by the investigating agency's former chief Joginder Singh.
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This seizure was followed by recovery of another Rs 1.16 crore from Sukhram's house in Mandi in Himachal Pradesh. The CBI had alleged that he had amassed the illegal assets between 1991 and 1996.
The Himachal Pradesh leader was held guilty by the court on February 20 under various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act dealing with criminal misconduct by a public servant.
The court had convicted Sukhram under Section 13 (2) read with 13 (1)(e) dealing with criminal misconduct of a public servant. In its judgement, the court had differed with the CBI's computation of Sukhram's illegal assets and reduced their value from Rs 5.36 crore to Rs 4.25 crore.
The CBI had registered the case against the former minister on August 27, 1996 following the recovery of unaccounted wealth. It had conducted raids at his official bungalow in Delhi and houses in Himachal Pradesh on August 16, 1996.
