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Rao, Buta do not deserve leniency: Court

The CBI court, which Thursday sentenced former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao and his Cabinet colleague Buta Singh in the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MPs bribery case, has said they did not deserve "leniency or probation" as their action amounted to "cutting at the roots of democratic system provided by the Constitution of India."

"To some extent, it may even be termed as subversion of the Constitution," Special Judge Ajit Bharihoke said in his 18-page order.

"Rao and Singh have been convicted for the charge of abetting the acceptance of illegal gratification by the JMM MPs as a motive or reward for voting against the no-confidence motion in furtherance of a conspiracy. The aforesaid act in my view is a crime of grave nature because by bribing the JMM MPs, Rao and Singh have tried to purchase the right to remain in power and rule the country," Bharihoke said.

Rejecting the defence plea for leniency, Bharihoke sentenced each to three years of rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs 2 lakh and said in default of payment of the fine they would undergo rigorous imprisonment for six months more.

Citing a Supreme Court judgement, he stressed the need for "nipping corruption in the bud at the earliest as it is likely to cause turbulence and shake the socio-economic and political system in an otherwise healthy, wealthy, effective and vibrant society."

PTI

The JMM bribery case: The full coverage

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