The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on a plea filed by the legal heirs of late former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala, seeking to be impleaded in an appeal against his conviction in a disproportionate assets case.
Justice Ravinder Dudeja directed the CBI to respond and fixed the matter for further hearing on September 15.
The application was moved by Chautala’s family after his death on December 20, 2024, in Gurugram, Haryana. The plea argues that his heirs should be allowed to contest the appeal filed by Chautala during his lifetime against his conviction and sentence.
Chautala had been serving a four-year prison term handed down by a Delhi trial court on May 27, 2022, which also imposed a fine of ₹50 lakh for amassing wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income between 1993 and 2006.
In August 2022, the High Court suspended Chautala’s sentence and granted him bail, subject to payment of the fine and furnishing a personal bond and surety. He remained on bail when he passed away.
The CBI registered a case in 2005 and filed its chargesheet on March 26, 2010, alleging that Chautala, while serving as Chief Minister of Haryana between July 24, 1999, and March 5, 2005, accumulated assets far exceeding his legitimate income. The FIR further claimed that these properties were held not only in his own name but also in the names of his family members.
The trial court had concluded that Chautala failed to satisfactorily account for assets disproportionate to his lawful earnings, leading to his conviction.
The High Court will now decide whether Chautala’s legal heirs can pursue the appeal in his stead, with the CBI directed to file its reply before the next date of hearing.
