RANCHI: The bail application of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in the Jharkhand High Court in a case related to illegal withdrawal of Rs 3.13 crore from the Dumka Treasury has been deferred till December 11. According to the defence lawyer, both the parties have been asked to verify the claim made by him that the RJD chief has completed half of the sentencing in the case.
“We have filed a bail application on the grounds that Lalu ji has completed half of his sentencing pronounced by the court in RC 38A/96 related to the Dumka Treasury, which was opposed by the CBI counsel. Hence, both the parties have been asked to get it verified by the order sheets of the lower court,” said the RJD chief’s advocate Prabhat Kumar. The next hearing in the case will be done on December 11, he added.
After being convicted by a Special CBI Court in Ranchi on December 23, 2017, in the second fodder scam case involving the illegal withdrawal of Rs 89.27 lakh from the Deoghar treasury, the 72-year-old RJD chief was lodged in Birsa Munda Central jail in Ranchi but was shifted to RIMS on August 29, 2018, due to his deteriorating health conditions.
Since then, he has been admitted to the super-specialty wing, then to the paying ward, and finally was shifted to the Director’s Bungalow of RIMS on August 5 this year, which was widely criticized by the opposition parties alleging that it had been converted into the RJD headquarters from where he is influencing elections in Bihar. But after an alleged audio clip offering a ministerial berth to a BJP MLA asking him abstain from voting during the Speaker’s election in Bihar went viral on social media, the jailed RJD chief was shifted back to the paying ward of RIMS on Thursday.
The RJD chief, who has been admitted to RIMS for over 2 years, is the 'longest admitted patient at the hospital'.
Yadav, so far, has been convicted in four out of the five cases related to the multi-crore fodder scam. These include cases related to the Chaibasa Treasury (RC20A/96) on September 30, 2013, another Chaibasa Treasury (RC68A/96) on January 24, 2018, Deoghar Treasury (RC 64A/96) on February 23, 2018 and Dumka Treasury (RC38A/96) on February 19.
RC 47A/96, related to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 139.35 crore from Doranda treasury in Ranchi, is still pending in a Special CBI Court in Ranchi. The RJD chief has already secured bail in Deoghar Treasury (RC 64A/96), Chaibasa Treasury (RC 68A/96) and another Chaibasa Treasury (RC20A/96) related case.