Om Prakash Chautala along with his son Ajay Chautala has been convicted in the teacher recruitment scam.
Highlight
- Mr Chautala was in jail after being convicted in the teacher recruitment scam.
- The 86-year-old man was serving a 10-year prison sentence.
- Chautala was already out on parole.
Chandigarh:
Former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala was today released from Delhi’s Tihar Jail. He was serving a 10-year term after being convicted in the teacher recruitment scam.
The 86-year-old Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) president, who was already out on parole, reached Tihar on Friday to complete the formalities, after which he was released.
Mr Chautala, his son Ajay Chautala and IAS officer Sanjeev Kumar, including 53 others, were convicted in a case of illegal recruitment of 3,206 junior basic teachers in 2000.
The former chief minister, who was sentenced in 2013, completed his jail term two months back due to special exemptions to around 20 convicts who had less than six months’ sentences remaining.
According to Mr Chautala’s counsel, Tihar authorities had informed that the Delhi government had passed an order regarding special exemptions.
The lawyer said, “There has been a fight for justice for Chautala. We have had to approach the Delhi High Court on several occasions for his release. The Delhi High Court did not consider his early release despite fulfilling all the criteria. Reprimanded the Delhi government.” Amit Sahni had said.
INLD, which has no MLA in the present Haryana Assembly, will hope for a revival with the return of Chautala. However, the veteran leader will not be able to contest elections for the next six years due to his sentence.
Despite this, the return of the four-time chief minister is likely to boost the party’s prospects given his charisma, oratory and ability to turn crises into opportunities.
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