Sukh Ram convicted

Sukh Ram convicted


The former Union Telecommunication Minster Sukh Ram was convicted by a CBI Judge in New Delhi for amassing Rs 4.25 crores as ill gotten wealth. The judgment comes after 13 long years when many had forgotten about Sukh Ram and his case. The case pertains to the period when he was a union minister and for giving contracts worth crores of rupees for getting personal gains. It may be recalled that the police found Rs.2.45 crores neatly concealed in bedroom mattresses in his official ministerial residence at New Delhi and Rs.1.16 crores in his Mandi home in Himachal Pradesh. Sukh Ram's is not an isolated case, there have been quite a few in the past. He flouted every rule book to manage personal gains, disregarding his ministerial responsibility to safe gurard public interest. While the law has got him at last, enormous court delays make the case inconspicuous in public eye. Public servants are duty bound to safeguard public interest and violation of rules must get priority in the courts. There must be specified time limit for getting government sanction and a reasonable time limit for court verdict. Such cases should be tried in fast track courts. Dragging the cases too long vitiates the essence and does not serve in highlighting nor preventing recurrence of similar cases. Exemplary punishments handed out within reasonable time can certainly act as a deterrent. Incidentally what happens to the minsterial oath and its flagrant breach? An additional punishment for breach of trust will be in the fitness of things. Let Sukh Ram case be a pointer for all those who have nefarious designs against public conduct.

A.R.K.Pillai
Feb 24:09