Teachers' scam: Chautala's interim bail extended till July 22

The Delhi High Court Thursday extended till July 22 the interim bail of Haryana's former chief minister Om Prakash Chautala, who has been sentenced to 10 years in jail for irregularities in appointment of teachers in 2000.

Justice Siddharth Mridul extended Chautala's interim bail till July 22 on medical grounds.

Chautala, who heads the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), moved the court for extension of his interim bail, which expires July 4.

He was granted interim bail May 21 for pacemaker implant surgery at Gurgaon's Medanta Medicity Hospital.

The court perused the status report filed by the CBI on the present health condition of Chautala and also the medical documents Chautala filed while extending his interim bail.

Justice Mridul asked him to obtain an elaborate report on his health condition from the hospital and furnish it before the court in the next ten days.

Filing the plea, Chautala said that his pacemaker implantation was done on June 3, and the doctor advised regular check-ups for three months.

Advocate U.U. Lalit, appearing for Chautala, submitted to the court: "He continues to be in a fragile state of health, besides being severely handicapped by various disabilities. He requires constant extra care during the period of three months and regular follow-up. He also needs a clean, stress-free environment."

CBI counsel Rajdeepa Behura sought that the court examine the private hospital's report through a medical board. However, the court did not pass any such order, and accepted the CBI's status report and the hospital's medical report.

Besides the heart ailment, 78-year-old Chautala also suffers from other age-related problems.

A trial court in the capital sentenced Chautala, his son Ajay Chautala and eight others to 10 years in jail. One convict was sentenced to five years in jail, while 45 others were each handed out four-year jail terms.

Chautala and the other accused were found guilty of illegally recruiting 3,206 junior basic trained teachers in Haryana in 2000.