Telgi pleads guilty; gets 13 years RI and Rs 50-cr fine

New Delhi: Fake stamp case kingpin Abdul Karim Telgi was sentenced to 13-year imprisonment on Thursday in the multi crore-stamp paper scam. He has also been fined Rs 50 crore. If he fails to pay the fine he will have to serve three more years of rigorous imprisonment.

Speaking to CNN-IBN Telgi’s lawyer Harshand Nimbalkar said, “Prosecution wanted to send Telgi for 20 years of rigorous imprisonment. If Telgi doesn't pay up the fine he will have to undergo three years and three months of additional rigorous imprisonment. Other charges against Telgi are also to come up for hearing. Telgi decided to plead guilty because of his health condition.”

Earlier in the day, Telgi pleaded guilty in the court. Forty-three other accused also pleaded guilty to charges before special judge Chitra Bhedi.

On Wednesday, the court discharged former Mumbai Police Commissioner R S Sharma and two other police officials for lack of evidence.

Sharma had been accused of protecting Abdul Karim Telgi.

Telgi, the kingpin in the Rs 3000-crore fake stamp paper scam, is facing trial in 48 cases. The scam first came to light when the Karnataka police seized a carload of fake stamp papers in 2000.

Telgi was arrested in November 2001. In 2003, during a narco-analysis test, Telgi came up with several sensational disclosures. He named several powerful politicians all of whom have denied the charges.

Telgi's first conviction came in January last year, when a Pune court sentenced him to 10 years in prison for counterfeiting government stamps.

In March this year, a special court in Bangalore sentenced Telgi to another 10 years in prison for forgery and cheating. Subsequently he was sentenced to 15 years and seven years in prison in two more cases.

Telgi's third sentence came in April when the special court sentenced him to 15 years for forgery and conspiring to cheat the state.

And on June 21, Telgi was sentenced by the same court to seven years in prison for bribing two government doctors to get a fake medical certificate, while in prison.