Haryana scam: Notice to CBI on two convicts’ bail pleas

New Delhi  :  The Delhi High Court Monday issued notice to the CBI on the bail pleas of two convicts held guilty along with former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala in a teacher recruitment scam.

Pushkar Mal Verma, chairman of district level selection committee from Mahendergarh, and Nirmal Devi, a member of the district level selection panel from Rohtak, moved the court challenging the sentence awarded by the trial court.

The trial court last month awarded five years jail to Verma and four years imprisonment to Devi.

Justice Mukta Gupta has now asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file responses on the bail pleas and posted the matter for Tuesday.

The court also asked the probe agency to respond by April 2 on the two convicts’ appeal challenging the sentence awarded to them.

The trial court last month sentenced Chautala, also the Indian National Lok Dal chief, his son Ajay Chautala, and eight others to 10 years in jail. Verma was sentenced to five years imprisonment while 45 others got four years in prison.

The court had earlier found prima facie evidence against the Chautalas and 53 others and charged all of them June 6, 2008, for their role in the irregularities in recruitment of teachers that took place between 1999 and 2000, when Chautala was Haryana chief minister.