Tis Hazari Court Sentences Sukesh Chandrasekhar to 8 Years in Jail for Impersonation

A Delhi court at Tis Hazari has sentenced conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar to eight years of rigorous imprisonment for impersonating a Supreme Court judge and attempting to influence a bail proceeding in another criminal case.

Chief Judicial Magistrate Harshita Mishra of the Tis Hazari courts handed down the sentence in an order dated August 29, which was made available on Sunday. The court had earlier convicted Chandrasekhar on August 20 under sections 170, 189, and 507 of the Indian Penal Code, which relate to personating a public servant, threat of injury to a public servant, and criminal intimidation by anonymous communication.

According to the sentencing order, Chandrasekhar placed multiple calls on April 28, 2017, to judicial officer Poonam Choudhary. During the phone calls, he impersonated a sitting Supreme Court judge hailing from South India, adopting a regional accent to make the impersonation seem credible and attempting to interfere with bail proceedings.

For the offence under IPC Section 170, the court sentenced him to two years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 5,000. Under IPC Section 189, he was awarded another two years of rigorous imprisonment and an additional fine of Rs 5,000. Under Section 507, the court awarded him four years of rigorous imprisonment.

Chief Judicial Magistrate Mishra directed that all three substantive sentences would run consecutively rather than concurrently, resulting in a total jail term of eight years. The court further ordered that in case of any default in the payment of the imposed fines, Chandrasekhar will have to undergo an additional month of imprisonment.

Emphasising the severity of the act, the court observed that the sentence must reflect that the criminal justice system distinguishes between an isolated unlawful act and a deliberate sequence of acts designed to manipulate, intimidate, or interfere with the lawful functioning of public institutions.