Thousands of supporters of Mr Chautala and his party, the INLD, were gathered outside the Delhi court where he was sentenced. They threw crude bombs and stones into the court complex when they heard of his jail term, according to the Press Trust of India.

Before the sentence was announced, the supporters had clashed with the police, which was grossly outnumbered, and used tear gas and batons to stop the mob from entering the court complex.

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has appealed for calm. "All are equal for The court, and we have faith in the judiciary. We will appeal to the people to maintain peace.There are legal processes, if anyone has objection they can follow legal procedures," he said. (Read: Hooda appeals for calm)



The Chautalas were convicted last week, along with 53 others, of hiring thousands of junior teachers for government schools in exchange for bribes.

Mr Chautala, who has served five terms as chief minister of Haryana, was moved from jail to a Delhi hospital two days ago after he complained of chest pains. He was not brought from the hospital to court today. The defence lawyer had asked the court to factor in Mr Chautala's age - he is 78 - and his poor health, while deciding on the jail term.

His son, Abhay Singh Chautala, has accused the Congress of misusing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to frame his father in the scam.

The CBI, which investigated this case, had asked for the maximum possible punishment for them, saying the crime was pre-planned and committed after deep deliberation.

The CBI says that Mr Chautala and his son had used forged documents to appoint the teachers.

Haryana votes next year for its new government. The Chautalas were planning to target the ruling Congress for being entrenched in graft. But their sentence disqualifies them from contesting the election.