India: Sukhram's conviction in 1996 telecom scam upheld by Delhi High Court

New Delhi, Dec 21 (PTI) In a setback to former Telecom Minister Sukhram, the Delhi High Court today upheld his conviction and three year jail term in the 1996 telecom scam. While dismissing Sukhram's appeal against his conviction, a bench of justices S Ravindra Bhat and G P Mittal also upheld the conviction of ex-deputy Director-General of the Department of Telecom (DoT) Runu Ghosh and Hyderabad-based Advanced Radio Masts (ARM) Managing Director P Rama Rao. The 1996 telecom scam involved award of a contract to a Hyderabad firm for supplying telecom equipment to government at exorbitant rates. The court also upheld the jail terms of Ghosh and Rao for two years and three years respectively, awarded by the trial court to them in July 2002. The court ordered all three to surrender before the trial court to serve the sentence. "The order on sentence impugned in all these appeals are, for the above reasons affirmed and left undisturbed. The appellants shall surrender and serve their sentences; they shall appear before the trial court for this purpose on January 5, 2012." In its 120-page judgement, the bench, however, acquitted Sukhram of the charge of conspiracy in giving the equipment-supply contract to ARM. It, however, upheld the conviction of Ghosh and Rao on charges of conspiracy. "The appeals of Ghosh and Rao, accordingly fail and are dismissed; Sukhram's appeal against conviction for conspiracy under section 120B IPC (Indian Penal Code) succeeds and is allowed," the court said. The court, however, upheld Sukhram's conviction on charges of misusing his official position for pecuniary gains in the scam besides committing criminal misconduct. The high court upheld Sukhram's conviction close on the heels of a trial court holding him guilty in another case involving supply of telecom cables to the Department of Telecom during his tenure as telecom minister in mid 90s in the government of P V Narasimha Rao. The court had sentenced him to five years imprisonment for taking Rupees 300,000 (about USD 6,000) as bribe to give the lucrative contract to another private firm in 1996. Later, the high court had stayed the conviction and granted him bail. PTI