New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Friday granted a two-week parole to Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) chief O.P. Chautala, serving a 10-year jail term in a teachers’ recruitment scam case, to look after his ailing wife.
Justice Mukta Gupta, however, restrained the former Haryana chief minister from involving in any other activity and also stopped him from moving out of Sirsa.
While granting the parole, the court asked Chautala to furnish a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and two sureties of the like amount. “He should confine himself to the hospital at Sirsa where his wife is admitted in the ICU, unless she is shifted to some other hospital,” the court said.
The court further said that Chautala should ensure that he will not indulge in any activity except for which he has been granted two-weeks parole.
In the petition filed through advocate Amit Sahni, the 82-year-old leader had said his wife Sneh Lata was critically ill and was hospitalised at Sirsa in Haryana and that he wanted to spend time with his wife “in her last days”.
Delhi police standing counsel Rahul Mehra vehemently opposed his parole plea, saying the court had earlier cancelled Chautala’s parole and furlough on the ground that he was attending political rallies. He further said there were other family members to take care of the ailing woman. The court, however, observed that the order by which his parole and furlough was cancelled was appealed before a division bench which had asked the authority to consider Chautala’s request when he applies in future.
It also said that after that the March order, he was granted furlough twice and Chautala has not misused it. The court also said there was no dispute that his wife was ill and he needed to visit her.
The court earlier had asked Chautala to substantiate his claim of seeking a two-month parole to look after his ailing wife by producing her recent medical records.
The plea has said the INLD leader was last granted parole earlier this year and that he was entitled to get parole as per parole and furlough norms, which stipulate that a minimum of six months should elapse after the date of termination of the previous parole to give a fresh one.
