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Order on sentence for Rao, Buta on Thursday

Onkar Singh in New Delhi

Special Central Bureau of Investigation judge Ajit Bharihoke on Wednesday reserved till 1400 hours on Thursday the verdict on the quantum of sentence for convicted former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao and his erstwhile cabinet colleague Buta Singh in the multi-crore-rupee Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MPs bribery case.

Bharihoke reserved the judgement after hearing arguments lasting nearly an hour-and-a half by counsel for the two convicted Congress leaders and the CBI.

While the CBI counsel said he left it to the court to decide on the quantum of the sentence, senior advocate R K Anand appearing for Rao pleaded for the minimum possible sentence in view of his age and political status.

The court also ordered the confiscation of Rs 5 million, paid to Mahto, by Rao on the eve of the no-confidence motion.

The order was given as the JMM leader, who turned approver, told the court during trial that the money was given to him by the Congress leader as a ''bribe'' to vote against the no-confidence motion.

The Congress government survived the motion by a slender margin of seven votes.

Making a statement in the court, Mahto also gave details in which bank the amount was deposited including in fixed deposits in a private company.

Talking to mediapersons outside the court-room, Mahto said that he now ''feels relieved and peaceful''.

Bharihoke had on September 29 convicted Rao and Buta Singh for criminal conspiracy (120-b IPC) and several offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act for bribing opposition MPs to save the Rao-led government in a vote of no-confidence on July 28, 1993.

While convicting Rao and Buta Singh, mainly on the basis of the confessional statement by Shailendra Mahto, one of the four JMM MPs to receive the bribes, Bharihoke acquitted nine others, giving them the benefit of doubt.

The arguments on the question of sentence started in the packed Vigyan Bhawan courtroom at 1000 hours Wednesday. Besides the convicted leaders, others present in the court included Congress leaders Margaret Alva M S Bitta and Bhuvanesh Chaturvedi, NCP spokesman Devendar Dwivedi and Mahto.

Additional inputs by UNI

The JMM bribery case: The full coverage

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