Sukh Ram
Encyclopedia
Sukh Ram is a former union communications minister in Indian National Congress
Government. He was a member of Lok Sabha
from Mandi constituency of Himachal Pradesh
. He won the Vidhan Sabha
election five times and the Lok sabha election three times.
in 1996 seized Rs. 3.6 lakh in cash concealed in bags and suitcases from his official residence. The cash was allegedly collected by him committing irregularities in awarding a telecom contract. He was convicted and sentenced to three years’ rigorous imprisonment by a Delhi court in 2002.
On 18 November 2011 he was found guilty in a 1996 Telecom Scam and was sentenced to five years in jail by a Delhi court. He was telecom minister in P V Narasimha Rao's cabinet.
Sukh Ram's conviction and his 5-year rigorous imprisonment sentence, pronounced on 19 November 2011, came at a time when the country had witnessed country-wide agitations and indefinite fast by the anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare
. Sukh Ram escaped a failed attempt to assault him by a 35-year old young man who claimed to have been inspired by the ideals of Bhagat Singh and [Anna Hazare .
As a coincidence, Sukh Ram, the former union minister of telecommunications, will be lodged in the Tihar Prisons Jail No. 1, the same as the one in which another former minister of telecommunications, A. Raja
, is being lodged as an undertrial in what is widely knwon as the multi-core rupees 2G Spectrum scam
. The November 2011 sentencing of Sukh Ram is not related to 2G Spectrum Case but is related to the fraudulent procedures followed in the purchase of polythene-insulated jelly-filled cables for the department of telecommunication of which he was minister. Sukh Ram has earlier been sentenced for amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income .
Although convicted and sentenced by different courts in three different but related cases, Sukh Ram has avowed to fight his case in higher courts .
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
Government. He was a member of Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...
from Mandi constituency of Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...
. He won the Vidhan Sabha
Vidhan Sabha
The Vidhan Sabha or the Legislative Assembly is the lower house or the sole house of the provincial legislature in the different states of India. The same name is also used for the lower house of the legislatures for two of the union territories, Delhi and Pondicherry...
election five times and the Lok sabha election three times.
Controversies
The Central Bureau of InvestigationCentral Bureau of Investigation
The Central Bureau of Investigation is a government agency of India that serves as a criminal investigation body, national security agency and intelligence agency. It was established on 1 April 1963 and evolved from the Special Police Establishment founded in 1941...
in 1996 seized Rs. 3.6 lakh in cash concealed in bags and suitcases from his official residence. The cash was allegedly collected by him committing irregularities in awarding a telecom contract. He was convicted and sentenced to three years’ rigorous imprisonment by a Delhi court in 2002.
On 18 November 2011 he was found guilty in a 1996 Telecom Scam and was sentenced to five years in jail by a Delhi court. He was telecom minister in P V Narasimha Rao's cabinet.
Sukh Ram's conviction and his 5-year rigorous imprisonment sentence, pronounced on 19 November 2011, came at a time when the country had witnessed country-wide agitations and indefinite fast by the anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare
Anna Hazare
Kisan Baburao Hazare , popularly known as Anna Hazare is an Indian social activist and a prominent leader in the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement, using nonviolent methods following the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi...
. Sukh Ram escaped a failed attempt to assault him by a 35-year old young man who claimed to have been inspired by the ideals of Bhagat Singh and [Anna Hazare .
As a coincidence, Sukh Ram, the former union minister of telecommunications, will be lodged in the Tihar Prisons Jail No. 1, the same as the one in which another former minister of telecommunications, A. Raja
A. Raja
Andimuthu Raja is an Indian politician from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam political party. He was a member of the 15th Lok Sabha representing the Nilgiris constituency of Tamil Nadu....
, is being lodged as an undertrial in what is widely knwon as the multi-core rupees 2G Spectrum scam
2G spectrum scam
The 2G spectrum scandal involved officials in the government of India illegally undercharging mobile telephony companies for frequency allocation licenses, which they would use to create 2G subscriptions for cell phones...
. The November 2011 sentencing of Sukh Ram is not related to 2G Spectrum Case but is related to the fraudulent procedures followed in the purchase of polythene-insulated jelly-filled cables for the department of telecommunication of which he was minister. Sukh Ram has earlier been sentenced for amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income .
Although convicted and sentenced by different courts in three different but related cases, Sukh Ram has avowed to fight his case in higher courts .