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Verdict drew a rare smile from Rao

Narasimha Rao, in his traditional dhoti and angvastra, sat on the extreme right seat of the front row, facing Sessions Judge Ajit Bharihoke. That has been his usual seat all through the hearing of JMM bribery case, after the sessions court was set up at the Vigyan Bhavan.

Unusual was the rather noticeable smile that Rao flashed when the judge told the packed courtroom that the sentence has been suspended till November 8. In fact even on Wednesday, Rao looked happy in court. And on Thursday, his traditional poker face was missing, a pleasant smile dotting his lips.

As he entered the court room, he greeted K P S Gill, the super cop who was a surprise presence in the courtroom that was bereft of Congress leaders, except for the now out of favour M S Bitta. And Bhuvanesh Chaturvedi. On Wednesday, there was Margaret Alva.

Rao came to court a few minutes before the session began. He made mere eye contact with one-time mentor and godman Chandraswami, but greeted Gill.

When counsel R K Anand briefed him about the three-year term, Rao looked relaxed. Anand told the court that he would like to seek bail, to which the Central Bureau of Investigation said it had no objection.

When the court granted bail and suspended the operation of the order till November 8, Rao gave a smile that bordered on laughter. In fact, those seated close to him said they heard laughter.

Rao's cabinet colleague Buta Singh's reaction was a couplet:
Agar kho gaye nasheman
To kya gum,
Mulko phate aaho fido,
Aur bhi hain,
Abhi ishq ke imtihaan aur bhi hain

A packet containing a lakh of rupees was passed on from the back by a Rao crony. It contained notes of Rs 500 denomination. Anand deposited it as the bail amount for Rao.

R Varhalu Rao, a resident of 64/2 Kalkaji in south Delhi, stood surety for Rao and deposited the surety amount. For Buta Singh, son Harvinder Singh stood surety.

Buta Singh arrived in the court accompanied by his children and grand children. While the large family crowd was noticeable around Buta Singh, Rao was alone.

While Rao and Singh left the court premises with their advocates in silence, for a team of CBI officials and their counsel inside, it was celebration time.

CBI advocate R M Tiwari said the CBI would examine the possibility of moving against nine other political leaders involved in the case, "since the Supreme Court has maintained that they are also culprits".

Bharihoke's order asking the CBI to file cases against the three JMM MPs, exempted by the Supreme Court for being bribe-takers, boosted the CBI morale. Now the officials are talking about recovering the money from the JMM MPs. The fourth, Shailender Mahato turned approver and offered to declare the rest of the money.

As the convicted and their advocates left the court room, as the media mela outside ended, Bharihoke completed his routine, in the ante room within the temporary court premises. He was composed and did not seem to have been burdened by the historic importance of the judgment just delivered. He reportedly told someone who congratulated him, "I did my job."

The JMM bribery case: The full coverage

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