The Supreme Court will hear on August 25, the appeals filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against the grant of bail to Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav by the Jharkhand High Court in five cases related to the fodder scam.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S.V. Raju, appearing for CBI, urged the Bench of Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Manoj Misra for early listing of the matter today.
However, the Apex Court listed the case for hearing on August 25.
He was convicted in two cases for fraudulent withdrawals from the Chaibasa Treasury. He was also granted bail in the Chaibasa Treasury matter on October 9, 2020 by the Jharkhand High Court on the ground that he had undergone half of the sentence imposed on him.
Prasad was in jail from December 23, 2017 after his conviction in three fodder scam cases. He secured bail in four cases related to Dumka, Deoghar and Chaibasa treasuries.
On April 21, 2022, the Jharkhand High Court had granted bail to the 74-year-old in respect to the fifth case due to ill health.
He was convicted in five fodder scam cases pertaining to the fraudulent withdrawal of money from Deoghar, Dumka, Chaibasa and Doranda treasuries in Jharkhand.
The Counsel representing Lalu Prasad had argued that he had already served 41 months in custody, which was more than half the period served in this case.
He was convicted in four fodder scam cases pertaining to fraudulent withdrawal of money from Deoghar, Dumka and Chaibasa treasuries in Jharkhand. In 2019, he was granted bail in the Deoghar treasury matter.
The RJD chief has also been convicted and sentenced to five years in prison and a fine of Rs 60 lakh by a Special Court in Ranchi, for a fifth fodder scam case pertaining to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 139.35 crore from Doranda Treasury in February this year.
(Case title: State of Jharkhand vs Lalu Prasad alias Lalu Prasad Yadav)