<p>Congress MP Rasheed Masood on Tuesday became the first lawmaker in the country to lose his Parliament seat after being sentenced to a four-year prison term for fraudulently allotting medical seats to undeserving candidates 23 years ago.<br /><br /></p>.<p>In the next two days, two more parliamentarians—Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad and the Janata Dal-United’s Jagdish Prasad, convicted in the fodder scam case—are set to join Masood. The quantum of sentence in the 17-year-old fodder scam case will be announced on Thursday. <br /><br />Masood (67), a Rajya Sabha MP, was also slapped with a fine of Rs 60,000. He was immediately taken into custody and sent to the Tihar jail. Besides Masood, a special CBI court here also sentenced former IPS officer Gurdial Singh and retired IAS officer Amal Kumar Roy to four years’ imprisonment. Roy was secretary to former Tripura chief minister Sudhir Ranjan Majumdar. <br /><br />The court also awarded one-year terms to nine students convicted in the case. <br />Masood and others were held guilty of fraudulently nominating undeserving candidates for MBBS seats allotted to Tripura from the central pool. Masood was a health minister in the National Front government in 1990. He was charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act and Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating) and 468 (forgery) of the IPC.<br /><br />The Supreme Court, in its July 10 verdict, took away the immunity enjoyed by convicted lawmakers<br /><br />Two students, including Masood’s nephew, were minors at the time of the offence. Their cases were transferred to the Juvenile Justice Board on January 25, 2007. Majumdar and former state health minister Kashi Ram Reang, who were also accused in the case, died during the trial.<br /><br />In February, former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala and his son Ajay were sentenced to 10 years along with others for corruption in recruitment of junior teachers. However, Chautala and Ajay, both MLAs in Haryana, escaped immediate disqualification as the Supreme Court verdict came in July.<br /><br />Former Bihar chief minister Jaganath Mishra and BJP leader Dhruv Bhagat, who were convicted in the fodder scam case, will not be able to contest elections unless a court stays their conviction. <br /><br />An ordinance introduced by the United Progressive Alliance government ran into rough weather last week after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi publicly dubbed the move “nonsense.” <br /><br />The government may now withdraw the ordinance at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday. During arguments on the sentence, Masood’s counsel sought the benefit of probation, citing his long service to the nation and health reasons, but the CBI opposed the plea. <br /><br />“Rasheed Masood does not deserve anything less than seven years (in jail) and a hefty fine should be imposed because by nominating undeserving candidates including his own nephew, he had spoiled the career of meritorious students,” the CBI lawyer said. <br /></p>
<p>Congress MP Rasheed Masood on Tuesday became the first lawmaker in the country to lose his Parliament seat after being sentenced to a four-year prison term for fraudulently allotting medical seats to undeserving candidates 23 years ago.<br /><br /></p>.<p>In the next two days, two more parliamentarians—Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad and the Janata Dal-United’s Jagdish Prasad, convicted in the fodder scam case—are set to join Masood. The quantum of sentence in the 17-year-old fodder scam case will be announced on Thursday. <br /><br />Masood (67), a Rajya Sabha MP, was also slapped with a fine of Rs 60,000. He was immediately taken into custody and sent to the Tihar jail. Besides Masood, a special CBI court here also sentenced former IPS officer Gurdial Singh and retired IAS officer Amal Kumar Roy to four years’ imprisonment. Roy was secretary to former Tripura chief minister Sudhir Ranjan Majumdar. <br /><br />The court also awarded one-year terms to nine students convicted in the case. <br />Masood and others were held guilty of fraudulently nominating undeserving candidates for MBBS seats allotted to Tripura from the central pool. Masood was a health minister in the National Front government in 1990. He was charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act and Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating) and 468 (forgery) of the IPC.<br /><br />The Supreme Court, in its July 10 verdict, took away the immunity enjoyed by convicted lawmakers<br /><br />Two students, including Masood’s nephew, were minors at the time of the offence. Their cases were transferred to the Juvenile Justice Board on January 25, 2007. Majumdar and former state health minister Kashi Ram Reang, who were also accused in the case, died during the trial.<br /><br />In February, former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala and his son Ajay were sentenced to 10 years along with others for corruption in recruitment of junior teachers. However, Chautala and Ajay, both MLAs in Haryana, escaped immediate disqualification as the Supreme Court verdict came in July.<br /><br />Former Bihar chief minister Jaganath Mishra and BJP leader Dhruv Bhagat, who were convicted in the fodder scam case, will not be able to contest elections unless a court stays their conviction. <br /><br />An ordinance introduced by the United Progressive Alliance government ran into rough weather last week after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi publicly dubbed the move “nonsense.” <br /><br />The government may now withdraw the ordinance at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday. During arguments on the sentence, Masood’s counsel sought the benefit of probation, citing his long service to the nation and health reasons, but the CBI opposed the plea. <br /><br />“Rasheed Masood does not deserve anything less than seven years (in jail) and a hefty fine should be imposed because by nominating undeserving candidates including his own nephew, he had spoiled the career of meritorious students,” the CBI lawyer said. <br /></p>
