Sentencing 'whistleblower' troubled me, says judge

The evidence suggested his full involvement in the scam and that he had actually implemented the forged award lists, the judge said.

The court noted that "he took a wrong stand before the Supreme Court of India in respect of the fakeness and genuineness of the award lists. He maintained the same stand before the investigating officer and stuck to his guns to the last even during trial.

"Even if Sanjiv Kumar had taken a truthful stand, at least at the stage of final arguments in view of the overwhelming evidence forthcoming before this court, his case would have been taken entirely on a different footing than the other convicts.