New Delhi, Nov 28 (IANS): The Delhi High Court Monday granted bail on health grounds to former telecom minister Sukh Ram, who has been given five years rigorous imprisonment by a trial court for corruption.
The court has asked Sukh Ram to furnish two sureties of Rs.10 lakh.
"Keeping in view the appellent's (Sukh Ram) age who is 86 years old and suffering from heart disease, this court grants bail to the accused," Justice Suresh Kait said.
"I suspend the sentence till the disposal of the case," he said.
Sukh Ram, who held the telecom portfolio in the P.V. Narasimha Rao-led Congress government, was convicted Nov 18 for taking Rs.3 lakh as bribe to award a cable contract to a telecom firm in 1996.
He was handed five years' jail term by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) judge R.P. Pandey Nov 19 for misusing his official position. He was sent to Tihar Jail.
This was his third conviction for corruption. He was earlier convicted in two corruption cases in 2002 and 2009 but remained out of jail.