In a recent hearing, the Supreme Court indicated the challenges associated with revoking the bail granted to RJD chief, Lalu Prasad Yadav, by the Jharkhand High Court in connection with one of the fodder scam cases. The apex court highlighted that the politician has been out on bail for the past four years.
A bench comprising Justices A S Bopanna and M M Sundresh made this observation when Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S V Raju argued that the high court had made an error in its decision. Raju stated,
“These orders are bad in toto. Bail has been granted on an erroneous assumption considering that sentences are concurrent and not consecutive.”
He emphasized that the high court mistakenly believed that the sentences imposed on Lalu in various fodder scam cases were to run concurrently, not consecutively.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Lalu Prasad, countered by pointing out that the appeal in this case was filed after a delay of 14-15 months by the CBI. Sibal remarked,
“Because [the CBI] came up in Lalu’s case and realised that they were appealing only in his, they said we’ll file an appeal in every other case. So that discrimination is…And after 14 or so months. They want to keep him inside so that in 2024 he can’t be out…Please keep the question of law open.”
Justice Sundresh echoed Sibal’s sentiment, questioning the need to delve into the matter given the time that has passed since the bail was granted in 2019.
The fodder scam, which spans 55 cases, involves withdrawals of approximately ₹950 crore from the state treasury between 1992 and 1995. During this period, Lalu Prasad Yadav served as the Chief Minister of Bihar and oversaw the departments of animal husbandry and finance. Allegedly, officials from the state animal husbandry department withdrew money against fake bills for fodder and medicine. Lalu Prasad has been implicated in six of these cases and found guilty in five.
In April 2021, the Jharkhand High Court granted bail to Lalu Prasad in a case related to a fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 3.13 crores from the Dumka treasury. He has also been convicted and sentenced to five years in prison and fined Rs. 60 lakhs in another fodder scam case related to a fraudulent withdrawal of Rs. 139.35 crores from the Doranda Treasury.
The Supreme Court has now deferred the hearing to January 2024.