M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, June 8: The Daltonganj civil court on Wednesday acquitted the RJD president and former chief minister of Bihar Lalu Yadav in the 2009 case of the violation of the model code of conduct. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 6,000 on him which was duly deposited with the Nazareth.
One of the four advocates D K Singh alias Pappu Singh, who contested Lalu’s case in the court of the judicial magistrate S K Munda, told the media persons that as Lalu Yadav was fined and given acquittal, the case against him stands disposed of.
Another advocate Ramdeo Prasad Yadav explained that there is a provision of imprisonment of one and a half months or a fine or both in such violation of the model code of conduct.
“In our client’s case, this imprisonment was already served by him in Ranchi and so the judicial magistrate here in the civil court Daltonganj just only fined Lalu Yadav for Rs 6,000 only,” the advocates said.
Senior advocate Ramdeo Prasad Yadav, who is the president of the Palamu district Bar Association, said: “Our client confessed to his guilt of the violation of the model code of conduct. A confession petition of him was moved in the court which was admitted by the court consequent upon which he was only fined and acquitted and the case against him was disposed of.”
SDPO Surjit Kumar said that security arrangements were tight for the Z category protectee Lalu Yadav. Policemen regulated the traffic on the court premises.
Lalu Yadav after his acquittal spent some time in the circuit house from where he drove down to the Chiyanki airstrip for his flight back to Patna.
The case of the violation of the model code of conduct was of the year 2009. The then BDO Garhwa had lodged an FIR against Lalu Yadav, the pilot of the chopper and others.
Sanjay Kumar Singh Yadav, the Jharkhand state RJD president said the chopper had landed in the open field instead of the helipad and that had triggered this case.
In April 2009, Lalu Yadav had a poll campaign at the campus of the Gobind high school Garhwa. There was then a huge turnout of the crowd. Hundreds were found sitting on the trees and rooftops to hear Lalu Yadav.
Sanjay recalling those days said that the pilot of the chopper found it difficult to land the chopper on the helipad as then it would have caused enormous safety problems to those who were perching on the trees and rooftops.
The chopper finally landed in an open field and thus it was made out a case of violation of the model code of conduct.
