Ex-Haryana Chief Minister, INLD boss Om Prakash Chautala passes away at 89

Om Prakash Chautala, the former Chief Minister of Haryana and chief of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), passed away on Friday at the age of 89 at his Gurugram residence. 

He is survived by his two sons and three daughters including Abhay Singh Chautala and Ajay Singh Chautala. His grandson Dushyant Singh Chautala has served as the Deputy CM of Haryana and as the former Lok Sabha MP from the Hisar constituency. 

Born to former Deputy Prime Minister of India Devi Lal, Chautala served as the Chief Minister of Haryana for four terms. He served three short stints as the Haryana CM from December 2, 1989-May 22, 1990; July 12, 1990-July 17, 1990; and March 22, 1991-April 2, 1991. 

His full term as the Chief Minister spanned from 1999-2005, following which he was succeeded by Congress' Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Chautala's full term as the CM, however, was not without its own share of controversies. 

In June 2008, Om Prakash Chautala, along with 53 others, were charged in connection with the teachers recruitment scam case related to the appointment of 3,206 junior basic teachers in Haqryana during 1999-2000. 

In January 2013, a Delhi court sentenced Chautala and his son Ajay Singh Chautala to 10 years' imprisonment under the various sections of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act. The former Haryana CM was found guilty of recruiting more than 3,000 unqualified teachers. 

Moreover, the Supreme Court ordered a CBI probe based on a writ petition filed by former director of primary education Sanjeev Kumar, a 1989 batch IAS officer. Chautala's sentence was then upheld by both the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court. 

He, however, was released from the Tihar jail on July 2, 2021 after serving 9½ years in prison of 10-year sentence. The former Haryana CM was released early due to the Delhi government's decision to reduce population within prisons to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Later, he was awarded a 4-year jail term in connection with a 16-year old disproportionate assets case on May 27, 2022 by a CBI Court in Delhi. The court also imposed a fine of ₹50 lakh on the octagenarian politician. With this, he became the oldest prisoner of the Tihar Jail at 87 years of age.