Sukesh Chandrasekhar gets 8-year jail term for impersonating SC judge
What's the story
A Delhi court has sentenced conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar to eight years of imprisonment for impersonating a sitting Supreme Court judge. The court also found him guilty of pressuring a judicial officer to grant bail. The court had previously convicted Sukesh for calling up a judicial officer who was presiding over a 2017 corruption case lodged against him, then impersonating a Supreme Court judge and pressuring the trial judge to grant him bail.
Court
What court said
Handing down the ruling, the court emphasized that the sentence should serve as a deterrent against calculated criminality, "particularly when directed against the administration of justice."
"The sentence awarded...must therefore serve not only the purpose of reforming the convict, but also that of protecting public confidence in the justice system and warning those similarly inclined that criminal ingenuity cannot outrun the penal reach of law," the court said.
Case background
The case dates back to April 2017
The case dates back to April 2017 when Chandrasekhar, in police custody for a corruption case, accessed constable Manjeet's mobile phone.
He then called special judge Poonam Chaudhary, posing as the personal secretary of a Supreme Court judge.
Another person then came on the line claiming to be the judge and demanded Chandrasekhar's immediate release on bail, threatening professional repercussions if not complied with.
Verification process
The judicial officer contacted the Supreme Court
The judicial officer subsequently contacted the SC and spoke to the actual private secretary of the concerned judge.
She was informed that no such call had been made and that the person named as the judge's secretary didn't work there.
The trial court found Judge Chaudhary's testimony consistent with call detail records and evidence showing Chandrasekhar had access to constable Manjeet's phone.
The court described the incident as an "absurd theatrical production" through which Chandrasekhar attempted to manipulate judicial proceedings.
Investigation flaws
Court slams Delhi Police investigation as superficial and apathetic
The court also slammed the Delhi Police investigation as superficial and apathetic.
Investigators failed to recover the mobile phone, secure CCTV footage from the crime branch premises, collect important call records or examine material witnesses promptly.
They also didn't probe how Chandrasekhar got access to an apparently secured smartphone while in police custody, the court said.