RANCHI: RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav will have to remain in jail for at least another week as the hearing on his bail application in the Jharkhand High Court was deferred again on Friday till February 19 after the CBI sought more time for filing documents. According to the defense counsel, the CBI is deliberately delaying the hearing to keep Yadav inside the jail for the maximum period of time.
Yadav has sought bail on the grounds of completing half of his sentencing in RC 38A/96 related to the illegal withdrawal of Rs 3.13 crore from the Dumka Treasury.
“Hearing on the bail application filed by Lalu Yadav has been deferred for another week as the CBI, at the last moment, sought time for filing some order sheets, for which it was given a week’s time after repeated requests were made by it,” said defense counsel Prabhat Kumar.
Kumar further added that all the arguments were completed on Friday and they pleaded before the court of Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh that Yadav has completed half of the sentencing and supporting documents were submitted in the court, but since the CBI sought time for submitting some order sheets to prove that he has not completed half of his sentencing, it was deferred for another week.
“There is no dispute that Lalu ji has completed half of his sentencing. We have submitted all the documents, supported by lower court records, proving that he completed half of the sentencing,” said Kumar. The final decision will most likely come on February 19 as there will be no excuse left with the CBI to delay the case any further, he added.
Notably, 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 condition.
Yadav, so far, has been convicted in four out of the five multi-crore fodder scam cases related to 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 the Doranda treasury in Ranchi, is still pending in a Special CBI Court in Ranchi. The RJD chief has already secured bail in in Deoghar Treasury (RC 64A/96), Chaibasa Treasury (RC 68A/96) and another Chaibasa Treasury (RC20A/96) related case.