‘Scam’ ghosts finally catch up with Sukh Ram

Sukh Ram and Ghosh had been accused of causing DoT a loss of Rs 1.68 crore by favouring Radio Mast Ltd in the purchase of 2/15 MARR Shared Radio System despite higher quotations and inferior quality.

The case had returned to a lower court after the Supreme Court, on December 13, 2001, overturned Delhi High Court Judge R.S Sodhi’s order of January 30, 2001, which said there was no ‘‘prima facie’’ evidence to frame charges against the accused. The SC had directed that a Special Judge be appointed to hear the case on a day-to-day basis.

Announcing the order in a room crammed with journalists, the judge said Sukh Ram had been sentenced on two counts — criminal conspiracy and under Prevention of Corruption Act. Besides undergoing the prison term, he has to pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh each for both offences.

Ghosh, too, has been punished on two counts and has to undergo two years’ imprisonment and also pay a fine of Rs 50,000 each for criminal conspiracy and under the PC Act. Rao, besides serving his jail term, will also have to pay a fine of Rs 2 lakh.

The three accused have been granted bail till August 5 by which time they can appeal in Delhi High Court. Till then V K Jain will keep the sentence in abeyance. The three have executed bail bonds of Rs 1 lakh each and a surety of the same amount.

‘‘I will go through the judgment and then file an appeal. I have faith in judiciary and I will get justice,’’ Sukh Ram, who represents Mandi in Himachal assembly for his party, Himachal Vikas Congress, told reporters inside the courtroom. Ghosh, who was present in court, told The Indian Express she would be moving Delhi High Court. ‘‘I have suffered a lot due to this case. I have been suspended for five years,’’ she said. She has been reinstated as General Manager at DoT in Ahmedabad. Though Rao refused to comment, his lawyer, R John, said she was surprised at the order since ‘‘there is no evidence to convict my client’’.

In his nine-page order, V K Jain drew attention to the deep-rooted corruption in the society, stressing that ‘‘it needed to be eradicated and contained as a large number of commercial contracts signed by the government has increased the scope for corrupt practices manifold.’’

‘‘A public servant, once found guilty of corruption, deserves no soft corner,’’ he observed, adding that ‘‘being head of the ministry, he (Sukh Ram) was expected to conduct himself in such a manner that he could serve as a role model for his subordinates.’’

He said ‘‘any leniency to him (Sukh Ram) would be totally misplaced and would induce other public servants to assume that even if they are caught indulging in corruption, they can get away with a mild punishment.’’

After registering an FIR in the scam in August, 1996, CBI had raided Sukh Ram’s houses in Delhi and Mandi and recovered around Rs 4 crore from his bedroom, bathroom and puja room. Runu Ghosh’s house were searched simultaneously. The CBI filed chargesheet on March 17, 1997, stating that Sukh Ram and Runu Gosh had connived to benefit Rao. The investigating agency is hopeful that it will get a conviction in second case of disproportionate assets — over Rs 5 crore — too. That case is at trial stage.

Among the properties Sukh Ram had been found to be allegedly possessing were bungalow at Kaushambi on Delhi-Ghaziabad border, two houses in Mandi, an apple orchard spread over nearly 12 acres and Mayfair Hotel in Mandi. Jewellery worth more than Rs 10 lakh and fixed deposits worth Rs 7 lakh too were claimed to have been seized.

A third case against Sukh Ram relates to a Rs 33-crore contract for polythene-insulated, jelly-filled cables given to Rohtak-based Haryana Telecom Limited. In this the court had framed charges of criminal conspiracy and corruption for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 3 lakh from company’s chairman Devender Singh Chaudhary for awarding contract in 1995-96.