Delhi HC stays 4-yr jail term of Jaya Jaitly in defence corruption case
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday stayed the 4-year jail term awarded to ex-Samata Party president Jaya Jaitly in a corruption case related to a purported defence deal, her lawyer said.
Justice Suresh Kumar Kait also sought the CBI response on Jaitly's appeal challenging her conviction and sentence, advocate Abhijat said.
Jaitly, represented through senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and P P Malhotra, challenged the July 21 order of the trial court convicting her in the case. Jaitly and two others were held guilty of corruption in a 2000-01 case related to a purported defence deal, the lawyer said.
A trail court on Thursday sentenced them to 4-year imprisonment, saying they compromised the entire defence system of the country.
The other convicts in the case are Jaitly's former party colleague Gopal Pacherwal and Major General (rtd) S.P. Murgai.
Special CBI judge Virender Bhat also awarded 4-year jail term to Jaitly's former party colleague Gopal Pacherwal and Major General (rtd) S P Murgai in the case, Murgai's advocate Vikram Panwar said.
There should be zero tolerance towards corruption in defence procurement deals as these have direct bearing upon an independence and sovereignty of our country, the court said, adding that the crime committed by the convicts was of highest degree .
The court, in an in camera proceeding, imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh each on all three convicts and directed them to surrender before it till 5 PM on Thursday itself.
The three accused were held guilty of corruption and criminal conspiracy in the purported purchase of hand-held thermal imagers. The case stemmed from 'Operation Westend' sting aired by news portal Tehelka in January 2001.
The trial court said the convicts were no laymen but persons of status and means, and had not committed the crime due to any ignorance or lack of knowledge or under any duress.
On the contrary, the crime was committed by them in pursuance to a well hatched conspiracy and upon due deliberations with each other, the court said, terming the crime as a very serious and having grave ramifications so far as the defence of our country is concerned.
The convicts took money from the representative of a fictitious firm without bothering to ascertain whether the firm was actually in operation and whether the product of the said firm sought to be inducted in the Indian Army was worth it, the court observed.
It noted that they chose to remain blindfolded on all the vital aspects of the concerned product of the fictitious firm only with a view to get some monetary enrichment.
By their act, they compromised the entire defence system of the country. It is a crime with very wide and huge repercussion for the entire nation and thus cannot be dealt with leniently, the court said.
