Conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar Gets 8-Year Jail Term for Posing As Supreme Court Judge To Seek Bail

A Delhi court sentenced an alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar to an eight-year jail term for posing as a Supreme Court judge to influence a special judge to grant bail in a 2017 corruption case. Chief Judicial Magistrate of Tis Hazari Court, Harshita Mishra, sentenced Chandrashekhar to two years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000 under Section 170 of the Indian Penal Code, two years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000 under Section 189 and four years rigorous imprisonment under Section 507.

The city court said that Chandrashekhar first impersonated as the secretary of then-Supreme Court judge and then the judge himself. The Delhi court therefore stated that the prosecution has proven that the accused has deliberately impersonated as the Judge to manipulate the judicial process.

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What Did The Order Say?

In the order passed on August 20, which was made available on Monday, the court said, "The sentence should be such as to reflect that the criminal justice system distinguishes between an isolated unlawful act and a series of deliberate acts intended to manipulate, intimidate, or interfere with the lawful functioning of public institutions."

Chief Judicial Magistrate Mishra of Delhi’s Tis Hazari Court, on August 20 passed the judgement, calling the crime a "direct affront" to the independence and sanctity of the judicial process.

Mishra stated that the sentence “must necessarily carry a deterrent message”, clarifying that calculated criminality, particularly against the administration of justice, invites consequences equal to its gravity.

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What’s The Case?

While Chandrashekhar was in custody for a corruption case, in 2017, he obtained access to the mobile phone of police constable Manjeet and used it to contact the official landline and mobile phone of Poonam Chaudhary, then a special judge dealing with Prevention of Corruption Act cases.

Sukesh Chandrasekhar has moved the Delhi High Court against a trial court decision convicting him and has sought deletion of the "derogatory, pejorative, stigmatic and unnecessary observations" on his character in the judgment.