Thaindian News

New Delhi, Dec 21 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Wednesday upheld a trial court decision to award three years’ jail term to former union minister Sukh Ram in a corruption case related to the 1996 telecom scam. He was told to surrender and serve the term.

The division bench of Justice S. Ravindra Bhatt and Justice G.P. Mittal also upheld the two years’ jail sentence awarded to ex-deputy director-general of the department of telecommunications (DoT) Runu Ghosh and three years’ jail term awarded to P. Rama Rao, managing director of Hyderabad-based firm Advanced Radio Masts. All the convicts are out on bail.

“The order on sentence impugned in all these appeals are… affirmed and left undisturbed. The appellants shall surrender and serve their sentences; they shall appear before the trial court for this purpose on Jan 5, 2012,” the judges said.

The 1996 telecom scam involved award of a contract to the Hyderabad firm for supplying telecom equipment to the government at exorbitant rates.

Eighty-six-year-old Sukh Ram, who held the telecom portfolio in the P.V. Narasimha Rao-led Congress government, was awarded a three-year jail term in 2002 under the Prevention of Corruption Act in a separate case relating to equipment supply.

This case deals with one of the several first information reports filed against the scam accused. The convicts were on bail as they had contested the conviction in trial court.

A seven-time legislator and three-time MP, Sukh Ram was in 2009 held guilty of possessing disproportionate assets worth Rs.4.25 crore. After expulsion from the Congress, he floated the Himachal Vikas Congress in 1997.

The judges asked the three convicts to surrender forthwith before the trial court to serve the sentence.

In the 120-page judgment, the bench upheld Sukh Ram’s conviction on charges of misusing his official position for pecuniary gains in the scam besides committing criminal misconduct

The judges, however, acquitted Sukh Ram of the charge of conspiracy in giving the equipment supply contract to Advanced Radio Masts. They upheld the conviction of Ghosh and Rao on charges of conspiracy.

“The appeals of Ghosh and Rao, accordingly fail and are dismissed; Sukh Ram’s appeal against conviction for conspiracy under section 120B Indian Penal Code succeeds and is allowed,” the bench said.

Hearing another case against Sukh Ram, the high court Nov 19 held him guilty in a corruption case involving supply of telecom cables to DoT in the mid-90s.