Delhi HC notice to CBI over Chautala's poll campaign

The Delhi High Court Wednesday issued notice to the CBI on a plea complaining that former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala has started campaigning for the upcoming state elections without the court's consent and misused the bail granted by it.

Chautala has been out on bail after being sentenced to 10 years in prison in the teachers' recruitment scam case.

A division bench of justices B.D. Ahmed and Siddharth Mridul expressed strong displeasure at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for failing to notify the court on the issue.

Gurgaon-based lawyer Hemant Sharma moved the court, saying Chautala attended a rally in Haryana's Jind town Sep 25 while on bail without the court's permission.

"His bail was cancelled for campaigning in Jind last month. Why isn't the CBI coming out with this," the court said, posting the matter for further hearing Oct 10 when the court reopens after a week-long break.

Sep 26, the high court cancelled the interim bail granted to Chautala on medical ground.

The plea sought cancellation of bail granted Chautala and asked the court to direct him to surrender immediately.

It said despite an undertaking given by him in the court that he will surrender on Oct 17, the plea alleged that he will "use the intervening time to campaign extensively in Haryana".

On Oct 2 and 7 he will address public rallies and worker meeting of his party.

He was first granted interim bail May 21, 2013, and has been getting extension of bail on the ground that he was currently admitted in the intensive care unit (ICU) of Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon due to poor health.

However, out of prison on bail, the Indian National Lok Dal chief addressed a political rally for about 10 minutes in Jind.

A special CBI court here Jan 22, 2013 sentenced Chautala, his son Ajay Chautala and eight others to 10 years in jail.

One of the convicts was sentenced to five years in jail, while 45 others were each handed out four-year jail terms in the case.

The Chautalas and the other accused were found guilty of illegally recruiting 3,206 junior basic trained teachers in Haryana in 2000 when Om Prakash Chautala was the chief minister.