Rao, Buta get three-year jail term
October 12, 2000
http://news.india-today.com/
NEW DELHI, Former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao and his cabinet colleague, Buta Singh, were today sentenced to three years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 2 lakh each in the JMM MPs' bribery case. Their party, the Congress, said it was ``duty-bound to respect the verdict of the court'' and law would take its own course.
Delivering his verdict here this afternoon, Special Judge Ajit Bharihoke, however, suspended the sentence till November 8 to allow Rao and Singh to appeal against their conviction in Delhi High Court. Both were granted bail on personal bonds of Rs 2 lakh and one surety each of the same amount.
The judge sentenced Rao and Singh to three years of RI and imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh on them under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and another three years of RI for hatching a criminal conspiracy. He, however, ruled that both sentences would run concurrently.
The order said both would have to undergo further imprisonment of six months if they failed to pay the fine.
Rao and Singh were convicted last month on charges of corruption and hatching a criminal conspiracy to bribe four JMM MPs in order to defeat a no-confidence motion moved against his minority government in the LoK Sabha in 1993. Yesterday both, the prosecution and the defence, had argued on the quantum of sentence and the judge had reserved his verdict till today.
The court has also directed the CBI to register a fresh case against three JMM leaders and former MPs Suraj Mandal, Simon Marandi and Shibu Soren to find out the source of money -- which was alleged to be bribe money but the charge remained unsubstantiated as the CBI failed to provide evidence -- deposited by them in Punjab National Bank's Nauroji Nagar branch, soon after the no-confidence motion was defeated on July 28, 1993.
Ministerial Corruption In Peru
The government in Lima announced on Friday 22, September that Mr Montesinos - a key powerbroker and ally of President Alberto Fujimori - would be fired after a week's political crisis sparked by the release of video footage showing him allegedly bribing an opposition congressman.
The Peruvian Government has agreed to dismiss the scandal-hit intelligence chief Vladimiro Montesinos.
A video of Mr Montesinos allegedly bribing an opposition congressman sparked a political crisis that led to President Alberto Fujimori's recent announcement that he would be stepping down.
Since then, President Fujimori's political opponents have been demanding the dismissal of Mr Montesinos, who is believed to wield a large degree of influence in the Peruvian Government.
The government sent a bill to congress which would disband the intelligence services and ban Mr Montesinos from holding public office.
Peru's disgraced intelligence chief Vladimiro Montesinos arrived in Panama, seeking political asylum after sparking a week-long crisis at home.
Panama's Foreign Minister, Jose Aleman, said the government was reconsidering its earlier decision refusing Mr Montesinos asylum.
Military backs Ivory Coast Opposition Leader
A sample of corruption cases from around the world
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