New Delhi, February 15
Jailed former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala today failed to get bail from the Delhi High Court on health grounds as the HC wanted to have a look at his medical records before considering his bail plea again on April 4.

Justice Mukta Gupta also issued notice to the CBI seeking its response to Chautala’s bail plea and appeal against his conviction and 10-year sentence for committing irregularities through cheating and forgery in the appointment of 3,032 junior basic trained (JBT) teachers in 1999-2000 when he was CM.

Chautala’s senior counsel Gopal Subramanium pleaded for an early hearing of the bail plea, instead of April 4, but the HC did not agree.

Besides citing his ailments and the resultant poor health, Subramanium contended that his client had been convicted and sentenced despite the absence of evidence dug out through investigation. The conviction of the 78-year-old chief of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) was solely on the basis of the testimony of IAS officer Sanjiv Kumar, a co-accused who had also been sentenced to 10 years in jail, he argued. Kumar was the then Director of Primary Education.

Subramanium also pleaded that his client was the Leader of Opposition in the Haryana Assembly and as such it was necessary to grant him bail in order to enable him to attend the Budget session beginning February 22.

The HC suggested that other INLD members could take up issues in the Assembly. Nevertheless, Chautala could approach the HC in case of any emergency on this score, the Judge clarified.

CBI counsel Rajdeepa Behura opposed Chautala’s bail plea, contending that he had been treated and discharged from hospital.

A CBI court here sentenced him and his son, Ajay, to 10-year imprisonment in the case on January 22, 2013 following which they were lodged in Tihar jail.

In the appeal, Chautala contended that the false and fictitious case had political overtones and his continued incarceration would be against the interest of justice.

The trial court had failed to appreciate that the decision on the recruitment of teachers was taken by the entire council of Ministers. The CBI court had singled him out in the case which was not proper.

The CBI court had sentenced 55 accused in the case. Among the main accused sentenced to 10 years are Vidya Dhar, the then OSD to Chautala, and Sher Singh Badshami, the then political adviser to the CM and a sitting MLA at present.