SC notice to Lalu Prasad on plea challenging his bail in fodder scam

New Delhi, April 4

The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice RJD President Lalu Prasad on a plea by CBI against the Jharkhand High Court's two orders, which granted him bail in the multi-crore fodder scam.

The CBI has challenged the orders issued by the high court on April 17, 2021, and October 9, 2020.

A bench of Justices L. Nageswara Rao and B.R. Gavai issued notice in both matters.

During the hearing, the bench observed that the high court noted that half of the sentence imposed had already been served by Prasad. It further added that the high court said it has followed the 50 per cent rule.

As Additional Solicitor General, S.V. Raju, representing the CBI, submitted the rule would not apply in the light of the fact that the sentence was to run consecutively, the bench queried: "What is the cumulative sentence?.....What is the period spent?"

He added that it was contrary to the provision under Section 427 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which stated the subsequent sentence would commence only once the first was served.

The Rs 950 crore fodder scam took place in the Animal Husbandry Department in undivided Bihar when Lalu Prasad was the Chief Minister.

In April last year, the high court granted bail to Lalu Prasad in the case relating to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 3.13 crore from Dumka Treasury. The high court noted that he had completed half the sentence period. And, in October 2020, the high court had granted bail to Prasad in a fodder scam case involving the illegal withdrawal of funds from the Chaibasa treasury.

Lalu Prasad was convicted in four fodder scam cases in connection with fraudulent withdrawal of money from Deoghar, Dumka, and Chaibasa treasuries in Jharkhand.

In March 2018, a special CBI court sentenced Prasad in the Dumka case to 14 years in jail.