New Delhi:
Just two days after his counsel told the Patiala House court that former Telecom Minister Sukh Ram was in a coma, the 86-year-old is being taken to jail in an ambulance.
The Patiala House court today ordered the former Telecom Minister Sukh Ram to be taken into judicial custody to serve his three year sentence in the 1996 Telecom scam case.
The 86-year-old had arrived at the court premises in an ambulance barely hours after the court issued an order that if he fails to surrender today, a non-bailable arrest warrant will be issued against him.
Two days ago, Sukh Ram's lawyer had told the court that he was in a state of coma.
The Supreme Court on Thursday had refused to grant the former minister relief when he had sought suspension of his sentence in the 1996 telecom scam case (one of the three cases against him).
A lower court had, on July 5, 2002, convicted the 86-year-old former minister and two others, ex-Deputy Director-General of the Department of Telecom (DoT) Runu Ghosh and P Rama Rao, Managing Director of Hyderabad-based Advanced Radio Masts (ARM), under various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The lower court had also imposed a fine of Rs. one lakh each on them.
While Sukh Ram and Mr Rao were awarded three-year jail terms, Mr Ghosh was sentenced to two years of imprisonment in the case. However, the lower court had granted them interim bail which was later extended by the High Court during the pendency of their appeals.
Recently, the Delhi High Court upheld the order of conviction against Sukh Ram in connection with a case relating to a telecom equipment scam in 1996.