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| Bangaru Laxman |
A New Delhi court yesterday sentenced former Bharatiya Janata Party president Bangaru Laxman to four years in prison, after finding him guilty of accepting a bribe from a fake arms dealer during a sting operation by a news website in 2001.
The special court in New Delhi announced the sentence for Laxman, 72, who resigned from his post soon after the sting operation was revealed by tehelka.com.
Laxman will also have to pay a fine of Rs100,000 ($1,906), prosecutor Padmini Singh from the Central Bureau of Investigation told reporters outside the court.
Laxman sought a minimum sentence of six months on grounds of old age-related ailments, but the court rejected his plea.
Judge Kanwaljeet Arora said: “Balancing the twin interest of society and that of the convict, I am of the opinion that the interests of justice would be met if the convict is sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a term of four years.”
“The problem of large-scale and rampant corruption, more particularly, political corruption is weakening the political body and damaging the supreme importance of the law governing the society.”
India’s courts have taken an increasingly activist role in cracking down on corruption which has become a hot-button issue with the Congress government reeling from a slew of graft allegations that have sapped its popularity.
In handing down the sentence, the judge said it was necessary to send a signal that “rampant corruption” will not be tolerated.
One of Laxman’s lawyers, Ajay Biswal, said: “This was clearly a case in which (Laxman) was framed ... This is not the final decision by the courts and we will appeal against it.”
Tehelka.com released videos in 2001 showing Laxman taking money from a journalist posing as a representative of a fictitious Britain-based firm, trying to win a contract for the supply of thermal-imaging equipment to the Indian army.
At the time, India was governed by the National Democratic Alliance, which was headed by the BJP.
“Tehelka portal scribes, impersonating as representatives of West End International, had held eight meetings with Laxman between December 23, 2000, and January 7, 2001, projecting themselves as suppliers of defence-related products,” the charge-sheet said.
However, Laxman had said that the investigations were politically motivated and were not conducted in fair manner.
Alleging that the Congress Party had funded the sting operation, Laxman said: “The Congress Party did use the Tehelka tapes in the general elections held in 2004, which goes on to establish that it was the Congress or persons having interest therein, who funded this project, wherein I was framed... I never had any disposition to commit any offence.”
After Laxman was convicted on Friday, the BJP sought to distance itself from him. Party spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain said: “We respect the court verdict. But the court judgment is on his personal conduct. The BJP is not a party in the case.”
The court held Laxman guilty for violation of an anti-corruption law, saying he had taken a bribe of Rs100,000 and agreed to accept a further amount as a reward for using personal influence on public servants in the defence ministry.
George Fernandes, the defence minister at the time, also stepped down after the Tehelka expose, but was reinstated after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the US.
The ruling Congress Party, which has been repeatedly attacked by the BJP for a slew of corruption scandals, was quick to target its political rival.
“This is the true face of BJP. Now, they do not have any moral authority to raise questions of corruption,” said Congress spokesman Rashid Alvi. “The BJP should set its own organisation corruption-free first.”
He added the Congress was not looking at the situation with any sense of happiness.
BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said the conviction was Laxman’s “personal liability,” but added he was entitled to take legal remedies.