New Delhi:
The Supreme Court has upheld the conviction and 10-year jail sentence to former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, his son Ajay Chautala and 53 others in a scam that involved illegal recruitment of thousands of junior teachers in the state's government schools.
The five-time chief minister and his son were convicted in January 2013 by a trial court for hiring the teachers in exchange for bribes.
The Central Bureau of Investigation, which had investigated the case for four years, had said the 80-year-old chief of the Indian National Lok Dal, and his son had used forged documents to appoint the teachers.
Altogether, 3,206 junior basic trained teachers were illegally recruited in Haryana in 2000, the agency had found.
The Delhi High Court upheld the conviction in March this year, saying, "The overwhelming evidence showed the shocking and spine-chilling state of affairs in the country."
In response to the leader's petition in top court, a bench comprising Justices FMI Kalifulla and Shiva Kirti Singh today said, "We are not inclined to entertain any of these appeals and they are dismissed."
The bench, however, said they may move high court to seek relief, like parole on health grounds.
Mr Chautala had been granted bail earlier on health grounds. But in October last year, his bail was cancelled and he was asked to surrender when it was found that he was holding political rallies ahead of the assembly elections.