SC declines to cancel Lalu Yadav’s bail in fodder scam case, asks HC to expedite hearing appeals

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to interfere with the Jharkhand High Court order suspending Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s sentence and granting him bail after conviction in the fodder scam case. A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and P B Varale refused to cancel Yadav’s bail, but asked the High Court to expedite the hearing of the pending appeals, preferably within six months.

“We are not inclined to interfere in the impugned order. The appeal is of the year 2018. It will only be appropriate to request the High Court to expedite the hearing of the appeal, preferably within six months. Disposed of. The legal issue is kept open”, said the bench while dictating the order.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, appearing for CBI, argued that on two occasions, Yadav’s plea for suspension of sentence was rejected on the merits. He said the High Court had erred in calculating the period of imprisonment undergone by Yadav.

“The issue now is that subsequently, the High Court grants bail on the ground that he has completed 50 per cent of the sentence, which is factually incorrect. Without considering the fact that it’s not a concurrent sentence, it suspends the sentence and grants him bail. This can’t be done. The yardstick applied is wrong. He has delayed the trial,” ASG said.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Yadav, said, “This whole argument that he should have undergone the first sentence then the second sentence, is completely wrong. The judge has applied a uniform yardstick. It’s the discretion of the judge”.

After the former Bihar Chief Minister completed half of his jail term in connection with the fodder scam case, the High Court in 2019 had granted him bail. Challenging the High Court’s order, the CBI filed an appeal before the Supreme Court.

In 2018, the RJD supremo was sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment, seven years each under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Corruption Act in the fodder scam case. The case involved the embezzlement of Rs 89 lakh from the Deoghar Treasury between 1991 and 1994. Yadav was Chief Minister of Bihar when the scam took place.

The RJD leader has been convicted in five fodder scam cases relating to fraudulent withdrawals from the Chaibasa, Deoghar, Dumka and Doranda treasuries during his tenure as Bihar chief minister. (ANI)