Delhi High Court suspends sentence of Om Prakash Chautala in disproportionate assets case, paves way for release from jail

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday suspended the sentence of former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala in the disproportionate assets case effectively paving the way for his release from jail..Justice Yogesh Khanna noted that Chautala is 88-years-old and has spent over one year and six months in custody without being release on bail despite furnishing bail bonds. The Court said that since his appeal against conviction in the matter will take time, his sentence should be suspended till the pendency of the plea. .Chautala will be released from jail subject to him paying the fine of ₹50 lakh imposed on him by the trial court and a personal bond of ₹5 lakh with one surety of the same amount. "The appellant shall not visit (sic) abroad except with the permission of the learned trial court," the Court added..Chautala was convicted by a Delhi court in May 2022 for the offences under Section 13 (1) (e) read with 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.The Court had also imposed fine of ₹50 lakh on him.The case against 85-year-old Chautala was lodged by CBI in 2005 and a charge sheet was filed in March 26, 2010 accusing him of amassing assets worth ₹6.09 crore, much higher than his legitimate income, between 1993 and 2006..Senior Advocates N Hariharan and Sunil Dalal along with advocates Amit Sahni, Sonali Tiwary, Monica, Manisha Saroha, Pratibha Varun, Gunraj Bakshi, Parth Sharma, Varun Deswal, Vaibhav Sharma, Siddharth S Yadav, Punya Rekha Angara, Prateek Bhalla, Rahul Sambher, Jayant, Harsh K Sharma, Vaibhavi Sharma, Lakshay, Bhumika Yadav and Rishabh Sharma appeared for Chautala. Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Anupam S Sharrma along with advocates Prakash Airan, Harpreet Kalsi and Anurag Andley appeared for the CBI. .[Read Order]