Indian minister gets five years in jail over corruption

He was earlier convicted for taking bribe to give a lucrative contract to a private firm in 1996.He pleaded for leniency in court on grounds of his old age while the CBI called him a habitual offender and sought maximum punishment for him, Indian media reports said.The 86-year-old Sukhram was held guilty for misusing his official position during his tenure as telecom minister in PV Narasimha Raos cabinet in giving a contract worth Rs 30 crore to private firm Haryana Telecom Limited (HTL) to supply 3.5 Lakh Conductor Kilometers (LCKM) of Polythene Insulated Jelly Filled (PIJF) cables to the telecom department.He was held guilty on Thursday under various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code. Various offences under which he has been convicted entail a maximum sentence of 7 years jail term.Appearing for Sukhram, his counsel pleaded to Special Judge Pandey, I (Sukhram) am an 86-year-old person and attending the trial for past 12 to 13 years. I suffer from old age-related ailments and have lost my wife. Therefore, a lenient view may be taken.He also submitted that age is a good consideration for leniency.He said that as such it is not a case where government has lost any money. The CBI allegation was that he (Sukhram) took bribe but no financial loss has been caused to the government exchequer.Responding to this, the CBI prosecutor argued that Sukhram is a habitual offender as he has been sentenced in two other cases also and deserves no leniency.