A Delhi court on Monday issued a non-bailable warrant against former Union communication minister Sukh Ram for not appearing before it in connection with a 13-year-old corruption case slapped by the CBI. The NBW was, however, cancelled within minutes as the 83-year-old Congress leader made a hasty appearance before the judge.

Sukh Ram faces trial in the case along with co-accused Devender Singh. The CBI has accused him of accepting a bribe of Rs 3 lakh from Singh, the then chairman of the Haryana Telecom Division, for official favour. In June 2002, the court had framed penal charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act against Sukh Ram and Singh.

On Monday, the hearing was fixed for concluding the defence evidence in the protracted trial. As the matter started, Singh’s counsel moved an application before ASJ Rajneesh Bhatnagar for giving him an exemption from personal appearance. The judge accepted his plea. However, Sukh Ram failed to appear before the court on time and his counsel too could not explain his absence.