Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, August 21: Lalu Prasad Yadav, the head of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), opposed the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) request on Monday to revoke the bail that had been granted to him in connection with the Doranda treasury case involving the fodder scam.
Lalu Yadav was granted bail in the case by the Jharkhand High Court on April 22 of last year. A special CBI court in Ranchi handed out a five-year prison term and a fine of Rs 60 lakh to the 75-year-old RJD leader in connection with the embezzlement of more than Rs 139 crore from the Doranda treasury.
Lalu Yadav stated in his response submitted to the Supreme Court that the Jharkhand High Court’s decision to suspend his sentence cannot be contested on the basis that the CBI is dissatisfied.
A three-judge panel led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud will hear the CBI’s appeal on August 25 asking the Jharkhand High Court to revoke Lalu Yadav’s bail in the Doranda treasury case involving the fodder scam.
In response, Lalu Yadav claimed that keeping him in custody would be useless due to his ill health and old age.
He claimed that because the High Court’s order was founded on broad principles and consistent guidelines, there was no need to interfere with it.
The CBI court in Ranchi found Lalu Yadav guilty in the fodder scam case on February 15, 2022. He received a five-year prison term and Rs 60 lakh fine on February 21.
During the time of the scandal, the 75-year-old RJD politician, who was also the Chief Minister of undivided Bihar, held the finance portfolio.
Lalu Yadav allegedly accepted kickbacks through the Department of animal husbandry. Money was disbursed through the treasury after fake challans and bills were raised which was cleared by the finance department.
The RJD patriarch earlier received 14 years of prison sentences in four other cases involving the Jharkhand treasuries of Dumka, Deoghar and Chaibasa.