HC asks Delhi government to consider Chautala plea for release

New Delhi, Feb 20 (IANS) The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the Delhi government to consider former Haryana Chief Minister O.P. Chautala's plea seeking his release from the Tihar Central Jail here under the special remission granted to males above 60 years.

Advocate Rahul Mehra, standing counsel for the Delhi government, assured a division bench headed by Justice Siddharth Mridul that the government will consider Chautala's plea seeking his release as per the Centre's notification dated July 18, 2018.

The court has told the Delhi government to consider the plea within four days.

Representing Chautala, senior advocate N. Hariharan and advocate Amit Sahni told the court that according to the special remission grant, the Centre asked state governments and Union Territories to grant benefit of special remission to males above 60 years, females and trans-gender above 55 years and to release them if they have undergone half of their sentence.

The notification also said that convicts with above 70 per cent disability will also be released after serving half the actual sentence.

"Chautala was convicted for 10 years under the Indian Penal Code and 7 years under the Prevention of Corruption Act. He has already undergone the sentence awarded under the Prevention of Corruption Act," Sahni said.

"Chautala has permanent disability of 60 per cent (as on April 2013) and later has undergone implantation of pacemaker in June 2013. The disability is progressive and at present it is more than 70 per cent and he falls in two clauses of the said notification."

Chautala's age is 83, which itself is sufficient to consider releasing him by giving benefit of the notification, he added.

Chautala and his elder son Ajay were convicted in the junior basic teacher recruitment scam in January 2013. Both were sentenced to 10 years in prison by a Central Bureau of Investigation court in Delhi.