Former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala released on Friday from Delhi’s Tihar Jail after serving a 10-year term following a conviction in a teachers recruitment scam.
Chautala, who is out on parole, reached Tihar jail on Friday and completed the formalities of his release. Director General (Delhi Prisons), Sandeep Goel, said, after necessary formalities, Chautala has been released.
Chautala, his son Ajay, and 53 others were convicted on January 13, 2013, by a Delhi court for illegally recruiting 3,206 basic teachers in Haryana in 1999-2000 when the INLD chief was the chief minister.
A CBI probe was ordered by the Supreme Court on a petition by IAS officer Sanjeev Kumar, who accused the leader of taking bribes to recruit teachers and said he was forced to change the original list of selected candidates.
Last month, the Delhi government had passed an order granting a six-month special remission to those who have served nine-and-half years of their 10-year prison sentence to decongest jails in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The 86-year-old President of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and the former Chief Minister, sentenced in 2013, completed his prison term two months ahead of schedule on account of a special remission granted to around 20 convicts who had less than six months of their terms remaining. According to officials, since Chautala has already served nine years and nine months of his sentence, he was eligible to get out of prison.
As on February 21, he had two months and 27 days of jail time left which has been counted as remitted.
INLD, which has no MLAs in the current Haryana Assembly, will hope for a revival with Chautala’s return. However, Chautala will not be able to contest elections for the next six years owing to his conviction.
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Despite that, the four-time Chief Minister’s return is likely to boost the party’s chances given his charisma, oratory, and ability to turn crises into opportunities.