The Hindu : 3-year RI for Sukh Ram in telecom scam

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 06, 2002

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3-year RI for Sukh Ram in telecom scam

By Nirnimesh Kumar

The former Union Minister of State for Communications, Sukh Ram, coming out of the Patiala House Courts in New Delhi on Friday. — PTI

NEW DELHI JULY 5. A Delhi court today convicted and sentenced the former Minister of State for Communication, Sukh Ram, to three years of rigorous imprisonment for causing a loss of Rs. 1.66 crores to the exchequer by favouring a Hyderabad-based private firm in the purchase of telecom equipment. The court also imposed a fine of Rs. 2 lakhs on Sukh Ram, chief of the Himachal Vikas Congress.

The Special Judge for CBI cases, V. K. Jain, in his 116-page judgment, also convicted and sentenced the then Deputy Director-General (Lease-Financing) of the Department of Telecom (DoT), Runu Ghosh, and Pataru Rama Rao, Hyderabad-based businessman, to two and three years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs. 1 lakh and Rs. 2 lakhs for entering into a criminal conspiracy to rob the exchequer in the 1993-94 case, and for causing a financial gain of Rs. 1.66 crores to the Advance Radio Masts (ARM) Pvt. Ltd. Mr. Rao was then Managing Director, ARM.

However, the Special Judge granted bail to the three accused enabling them to appeal in the Delhi High Court on their furnishing a personal bond of Rs. 1 lakh each with one surety for a like amount and subject to submission of the fine.

Justice R. S. Sodhi of the Delhi High Court had discharged the three in the year 2000 on the ground that the CBI failed to prove the charge of criminal conspiracy against them. On an appeal by the CBI, the Supreme Court quashed the judgment and reverted the case back to the Special Court for trial.

In his order, Mr. Jain rejected the pleas of defence counsel for a lenient punishment on the ground that Sukh Ram was 75 years old and a heart patient; that Ms. Ghosh's husband was suffering from heart ailment and that Mr. Rao's son was getting married.

The judge observed: "A message needs to be put across that howsoever high and mighty a person may be, no one is mightier than law, and if a public servant indulges in corruption, the punishment would be severe enough to make him regret the moment he decided to eat the forbidden fruit.''

In 1991, the DoT had floated a tender to purchase 3,000 MARR Shared Radio Systems. Of all the 35 companies, including Indo-Tronix Computers Pvt. Ltd. which offered the equipment at the rate of Rs. 3,54,500 a system, ARM Pvt. Ltd. quoted a higher price. But the company had the benefit of having an approval of the Telecom Engineering Centre to manufacture the equipment — the ARM had obtained the approval after getting the supply order.

Since the instrument was to be purchased only from those manufacturers who had the approval, the Tender Evaluation Committee recommended that a counter offer be given to ARM Pvt. Ltd. to supply 500 systems at the rate of Rs. 3,54,000 per piece.

Sukh Ram and Ms. Ghosh favoured ARM Pvt. Ltd. by ensuring the purchase of two types of the equipment at the same rate while they were available at different rates at that time. And the Rs. 1.66 crores, of which ARM benefited, in conspiracy with the Minister and the official, was the differential price between the two equipment.

Our Hyderabad Special Correspondent reports:

The ARM Ltd. has clarified that Mr. Rao is not its Managing Director, nor is he on its board of directors. In a statement, Krishna Nandan, Managing Director, ARM, said Mr. Rao had resigned in September 1996.

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