NEW DELHI: Former Union Communications Minister Sikh Ram was today sent to judicial Custody in Tihar jail after special judge Ajit Bhari Hoke reserved order till October 1, in the case of disproportionate assets against him. However, the Special Judge granted Sukh Ram bail in case of irregularities made in the purchase of telecom equipment which has cost Rs 1.68 crore to the exchequer. Rejecting the request of the Central Bureau of Investigation for extending the police remand of Sukh Ram for another three days, the Special Judge said that the former minister was being granted bail on a surety of Rs one lakh. Earlier, CBI counsel O.P. Verma pleaded to the court that the police remand of Sukh Ram be extended for another three days because investigations in both the cases had not been completed. He pointed out that the investigation Officer had not completed the investigation with the Hyderabad Bank from where the money, found at the premises of Sukh Ram, was withdrawn. He said there was no substance in the plea of Sukh Ram’s counsel that he was medically unfit. The investigation report suggests that he was not sick though he is a heart patient. Verma said that the CBI was not able to DE codify the remaining 26 names of persons, out of 31, registered in the diaries of Sukh Ram. He said even those persons identified by the CBI were being threatened by the accused. Naming the coded persons as “C.K.”, the counsel said that he was asked by the accused not to disclose anything to police. Sukh Ram’s counsel Dinesh Mathur, however, opposed the CBI plea and said even suspended DOT official Runu Ghost had been granted bail. He said the maximum punishment under the Act was seven years’ imprisonment and the offense is also bailable. Stating that Sukh Ram would have been granted bail under normal circumstances, Mathur alleged that “a new kind of jurisprudence was being written” and he was being denied the same under the prevailing circumstance and conditions. Asserting that ‘silence’ and ‘noncooperation’ were the rights of the accused, Mathur said the former minister was not fleeing from justice” a she complied with the summons.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 2, 1996
