Former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, who is serving a 10-year prison term and is out on parole, will reach Tihar jail on Friday to complete formalities for his release, INLD state unit president Nafe Singh Rathi said on Thursday.
The Delhi government had last month 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. According to officials, since the 86-year-old former chief minister has already served nine years and nine months of his sentence, he is eligible to get out of prison.
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 Central Bureau of Investigation (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.
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.
The Tihar authorities had communicated that the Government of Delhi had passed an order regarding the special remission, according to Mr Chautala’s lawyer.
“It has been a battle to seek justice for Chautala. We had to approach the Delhi High Court on multiple occasions for his release. The Delhi High Court has reprimanded the Delhi government for not considering his early release despite his fulfilling all parameters,” lawyer Amit Sahni had said.
INLD, which has no MLAs in the current Haryana Assembly, will hope for a revival with Mr Chautala’s return. However, the veteran leader will not be able to contest elections for the next six years owing to his conviction.
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.
