Fodder scam cases: Supreme Court issues notice to CBI on Lalu Prasad's bail plea

The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on a plea filed by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad seeking bail in three fodder scam cases. The RJD chief, who is currently lodged in the Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi, had earlier sought the bail in the Jharkhand High Court on medical grounds. However, the Jharkhand High Court on January 10 had rejected his plea after CBI's opposition. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked the probe agency to respond within two weeks on Lalu’s plea challenging the January 10 verdict of the Jharkhand High Court.

The over Rs 900 crore fodder scam relates to fraudulent withdrawal of money from treasuries in the Animal Husbandry department in early 1990s when Bihar and Jharkhand were one state and the RJD was in power with Yadav the chief minister.

Earlier in March last year, the RJD chief was sentenced to 14 years in jail in the fourth fodder scam case. The special court also imposed a fine of Rs 60 lakh on the former chief minister of Bihar. 

Lalu's conviction has been made under different sections of IPC & sections of Prevention of corruption Act. The court had convicted Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad Yadav on Monday in a case relating to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 3.13 crore from December 1995 to January 1996 from the Dumka treasury.

A special CBI court on January 24, 2018 had sentenced Lalu Prasad and Jagannath Mishra to five years in jail in a fodder scam case related to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 37.62 crore from the Chaibasa treasury.

The RJD supremo was convicted on September 30, 2013 in the RC 20A/96 case of Chaibasa pertaining to illegal withdrawal of Rs 37.7 crore in the 1990s. He got five years prison term in the case following which he was disqualified from the Lok Sabha and barred from contesting elections for six years after completion of jail term.