The Delhi High Court on Monday granted one-month parole to INLD leader Ajay Chautala, who is serving a 10-year jail term in connection with the teachers’ recruitment scam case, for maintaining “social ties”.
The court, however, restrained him from taking part in any political activity.
Justice A. K. Pathak also restricted Chautala’s movement, while directing him not to leave Delhi without permission from the authorities concerned.
“The petitioner is granted one-month parole. During this period, he will not move out of Delhi and will also restrain himself from participating in any of his or other political parties’ rally,” the court said.
It said the relief is granted to “re-establish his ties with the society and family members”. The court’s order came on Chautala’s plea seeking two months’ parole to allow him to “return to the mainstream”.
In his plea for parole, filed through advocate Amit Sahni, Chautala contended that the Delhi government’s 2010 guidelines were framed to achieve the objectives of parole, to enhance continuity with family members, to maintain a minimum level of self-worth and confidence, for a positive attitude and interest in life and to protect social ties.
‘Return to mainstream’
The advocate had argued that the law was well-settled on the fact that grant of parole to a convict is an integral part of correctional process.
“It is a kind of consideration granted to the prisoners to help them to come back into the mainstream of life. It is nothing but an instrument of social rehabilitation of the prisoner. Still further it is equally settled that the release on parole is expected to provide opportunity to the prisoner to transform himself into a useful citizen,” the plea had said.
The Supreme Court had on August 3 last year dismissed the appeals of Chautala and his father O. P. Chautala, challenging the High Court’s verdict upholding their conviction and sentence of 10 years awarded by a trial court in the Junior Basic Trained (JBT) teachers recruitment scam case.
The High Court had on March 5, 2015, upheld the 10-year jail term awarded to the Chautalas and three others, saying that “the overwhelming evidence showed the shocking and spine-chilling state of affairs in the country”.
The father-son duo and 53 others, including two IAS officers, were among the 55 persons convicted on January 16, 2013, by a trial court for illegally recruiting 3,206 JBT teachers in Haryana in 2000. — PTI
