SC extends Sukh Rams interim bail till August 7

On January 9,the court had directed the CBI to file its reply in the case,but the agency did not. Additional Solicitor General Vivek Tankha,the CBIs counsel,said he was unaware if the agency would file an appeal in the case or not.

Sukh Ram,86,was granted bail by the apex court soon after he surrendered before a trial court to serve his three-year sentence. Ghosh and Rao had also surrendered to serve their two and three year jail terms respectively.

On December 21,2011,the Delhi High Court had upheld a lower courts 2002 judgement holding Sukh Ram,Rao and Ghosh guilty of being part of a criminal conspiracy to defraud the exchequer by awarding a telecom equipment supply contract to Hyderabads Advanced Radio Masts which supplied inferior goods at a higher rate to the DoT.

Sukh Ram was Telecom Minister between January 1993 and May 1996 in the then Narasimha Rao government.