"There is a Rubicon that must not be crossed...am pained and disappointed at his conduct. Dignity and decorum of courts has to be maintained. We can't turn bail on medical grounds into a carnival. Justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done," Justice Sidhharth Mridul observed, rejecting last ditch attempts by Chautala's legal team of veteran lawyers Ram Jethmalani and R K Anand to postpone surrender till Monday.
Chautala, who was present in court with his team of supporters, at one point of time stood up to plead he be allowed to remain at the hospital but Justice Mridul remained firm, saying "You surrender tomorrow. Let's not bargain over this."
HC decided to shorten the surrender period after CBI's lawyer Rajdipa Behura alleged that Chautala was testing "court's indulgence." She drew HC's attention to the sympathetic view it took ever since Chautalas conviction due to his ill health. "Common man shouldn't be feeling that powerful can get away with anything. The conduct of the hospital in this case has been of collusion with the convict. Other convicts in the same case have not got similar benefit," the counsel told Justice Mridul, praying for directions to Chautala to surrender immediately.
While Chautala himself and his lawyers kept referring to fracture suffered by the ageing politician as reason why he must be sent back to hospital, HC refused to budge. "If he is fit enough to travel and address rallies he is well enough to surrender," the court pointed out, saying if the jail medical superintendent feels necessary the authorities can take Chautala for medical attention to AIIMS.
The CBI managed to serve him HC summons only on Friday morning when he appeared before Special CBI Judge Manu Rai Sethi at Tees Hazari district court in connection with another disproportionate assets case.
On Thursday, the trial court had rejected Chautala's plea seeking exemption from personal appearance and permission to take part in the ongoing Haryana election campaign. The trial court permitted the CBI to serve Chautala with court notice paving the way for his appearance in the afternoon.
Soon after reaching HC the veteran leader went into a huddle with his legal team before entering the packed courtroom at 2.15 pm.
The INLD leader was granted bail in the case relating to teachers recruitment scam in which he has been convicted and sentenced to 10 years and his appeal is pending in HC. He was later granted bail by HC after he pleaded he needed to undergo medical treatment at Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon.
HC's surrender order came on a petition filed by a Gurgaon lawyer who pointed out that Chautala was blatantly violating bail conditions. Later, the CBI also pleaded before the court that the former CM must be directed to surrender.
http://ift.tt/1r4pkmm P Chautala,Delhi HC orders OP Chautala to surrender
Stay updated on the go with The Times of India’s mobile apps. Click here to download it for your device.
0 comments:
Post a Comment