A ‘pained and disappointed’ HC orders Chautala back into jail

The high court said that the Indian National Lok Dal chief "cannot take the court for ride."

Chautala, serving sentence for his role in the teacher recruitment scam, was granted interim bail on medical

Former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala, who hit INLD’s campaign trail despite being given bail on health grounds, will have to return to Tihar jail on Saturday after a Delhi High Court order on Friday.

Observing that “majesty of the judicial system” had come under question due to his actions, the Delhi HC also banned the INLD leader from addressing any public meeting before his surrender.

Justice Siddharth Mridul came down heavily on 79-year-old Chautala in a packed courtroom, reminding him to “not abuse the faith reposed by the court” in him by allowing him to surrender on Saturday, and not Friday evening.

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“I am pained and disappointed,” said the judge, adding that the court had allowed him to stay in the hospital due to his medical condition. He was earlier supposed to surrender on October 17.

On Thursday, the HC had issued notice to Chautala, asking him to appear before court on Friday after the CBI and a private lawyer had filed applications for cancellation of the bail granted to him on health grounds, and his immediate surrender. The High Court is hearing appeals filed by Chautala and 54 others against their conviction in the teachers’ recruitment scam of 2000.

After being released on interim bail on health grounds, he addressed several rallies for INLD. Chautala was sentenced to 10 years in prison by a CBI special court last year.

On Friday morning, the politician also appeared before a Special CBI court at Tis Hazari, where he is under trial in a disproportionate assets case. During the brief hearing in the court of judge Manu Rai Sethi, the CBI served the High Court notice to Chautala, claiming that he had “deliberately ignored” the attempts to serve him the notice.

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Advocates Ram Jethmalani and Hariharan, who appeared on Chautala’s behalf in the Delhi High Court, said that since the bail order had not put any restrictions on the INLD leader, he should be allowed to surrender by Monday.

Chautala said that he had been “under the mistaken impression that there was no restriction” on him as the HC bail order had not mentioned any explicit condition.

He informed Justice Mridul that he was recovering from a fracture, but the judge did not provide him any relief and said the Tihar Jail authorities could examine him and take him to AIIMS, if required.

The court said that if jail authorities deem it necessary they may take him to AIIMS for medical treatment.

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CBI, which had sought cancellation of Chautala’s bail, wanted him to surrender today itself.