Summary:
Jharkhand High Court on Saturday granted bail to RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav in the Fodder scam case related to fraudulent withdrawal from Dumka Treasury.
Prasad is presently recuperating at AIIMS New Delhi where he was airlifted in January.
.
Lalu Prasad Yadav had acquired bail in three other cases of the fodder scam and was waiting for judgment in the instant case related to the illegal withdrawal of Rs 3.13 crore from the Dumka treasury in the 90s to come out of the jail.
The septuagenarian RJD supremo was airlifted to AIIMS New Delhi in January in view of his poor health.
Jharkhand High Court grants bail to RJD chief Lalu Prasad in fodder scam case,paving way for his release from jail
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 17, 2021
The Court had earlier deferred by a week the hearing in bail petition of jailed RJD president Lalu Prasad in fodder scam case.
Prasad`s lawyer Kapil Sibal appearing through video conferencing had argued that the central probe agency was deliberately delaying the matter as it wanted to keep his client in the jail "due to political reasons."
Devashri Mandal had filed Lalu`s bail application in the High Court saying that the RJD chief has completed half of the sentence in the case so he should be allowed bail.
The plea also cited the poor health condition of septuagenarian Prasad.
On February 19, the court had rejected bail to Prasad as he had fallen short by 17 days to complete half of his sentencing.
Lalu had been in prison since December 2017, as he was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in 2018 under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and seven years under the Prevention of Corruption Act in connection with the fodder scam case.
The Dumka treasury embezzlement case is a part of the fodder scam cases, pertaining to the fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 3.5 crores from the Dumka treasury by Animal Husbandry Department officials between 1991 and 1996 when Lalu was the Chief Minister of Bihar.
.