Court seeks CBI response to IAS officer's appeal

Delhi High Court on Monday sought response of the CBI on IAS officer Sanjiv Kumar's appeal against his conviction and the subsequent 10-year jail term in the case of illegal recruitment of teachers in Haryana.

The probe agency was issued a notice by Justice Mukta Gupta on the plea filed by Kumar, who was convicted and sentenced along with former Haryana chief minister O P Chautala and 53 others. 

The case pertains to illegal recruitment of 3,206 junior basic teachers (JBT) in 2000. The High Court has set April 8 as the date for further hearing on April 8. 

Kumar, the then director of primary education in Haryana, had initially exposed the scam after he filed a plea in the Supreme Court. Later, he was also found to be involved in the scam during a CBI probe. 

On February 14, Chautala moved the High Court against his conviction and sentence awarded in the scam. He has also sought interim bail in the case. The High Court, on Chautala's plea, issued a notice to the CBI and sought his medical records from jail authorities. 

The Chautalas and Kumar, along with five others were handed 10-year prison sentences. One convict has been handed a five-year sentence, while the rest 44 have been imprisoned for four years. 

Among the 55 convicts, 16 were women officials. The court had convicted all of the 55 accused in the case on January 16 earlier this year.