Fodder scam: Supreme Court issues notice to CBI on Lalu Yadav's bail plea

The Supreme Court today agreed to hear the bail plea of RJD chief Lalu Prasad, who is undergoing a five-year jail term after being convicted in a fodder scam case, and sought response from CBI.

A bench of Chief Justice P Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan Gogoi directed CBI, which is the prosecuting agency in the fooder scam case, to file its response within two weeks and posted the case for hearing to December 13.

Senior advocate Ram Jethmalani, appearing for Prasad, submitte ..


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Fodder scam: Lalu appears before special CBI court through video-conferencing

RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, now in a prison following his conviction in a fodder scam case last month, on Tuesday appeared before a special CBI court through video-conferencing in connection with another fodder case.

Lalu registered his appearance through video-conferencing from the jail before the court of Sitaram Prasad in connection with fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 97 lakh from Deogarh Treasury when he was at the head of RJD government during undivided Bihar in the 1990s.

Besides Lalu, former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra, former JD(U) MP Jagdish Sharma and 27 others are accused in the case. Mishra is now on provisional bail on medical ground.


Fodder scam: Lalu appears before special CBI court through video-conferencing

Lalu is also facing charges in three other cases pertaining to fodder scam cases in different treasuries in the Rs 950 crore AHD scam, known as fodder scam.

He is now lodged in the Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi after being found guilty by the CBI court of Pravas Kumar Singh on September 30 in a case of fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 37.7 crore from the Chaibasa treasury.

The court had on October 3 sentenced him to jail for five years and fined Rs 25 lakh. In all, 45 were convicted and sentenced to varied prison terms in the case.

More: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/fodder-scam-lalu-appears-before-special-cbi-court-through-videoconferencing/433834-3-233.html

President's son meets Lalu in jail

Congress MP Abhijit Mukherjee, son of President Pranab Mukherjee, has called on RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav in jail.

The Jangipur MP met Prasad at the Birsa Munda Central

Jail here yesterday.

A CBI court had on September 30 awarded prison sentences to Prasad and 44 others for fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 37.7 crore from the Chaibasa treasury when he was at the helm of affairs in Bihar in the 1990s.

Prasad is scheduled to file an appeal in the Jharkhand High Court on October 17 against the sentence passed by a Special CBI court.

Mukherjee, who was going to Rajrappa also met Jharkhand

Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

Credits: indianexpress

Bihar BJP a divided house over implicating Nitish Kumar in the fodder scam

The BJP in Bihar seems to be a divided house over the role of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in the multi-crore fodder scam.

On Saturday, BJP leader and former deputy of Mr Kumar, Sushil Kumar Modi, said the CBI should probe the role of the chief minister in the scam.

Mr Modi, who released some statements of three accused - recorded in 1996 - said the CBI might try to shield the chief minister in view of his growing proximity with the Congress.

In the statements, at least one of the accused claimed that Rs 1 crore was paid to Mr Kumar. The statement, recorded under section 161, was not confirmed by Umesh Singh, a key vigilance department employee credited with delivering the money.

But in a new twist, a senior BJP leader and one of the petitioners, Saroy Rai, questioned Mr Modi's claim saying there was no point raising the issue now as the CBI had submitted an affidavit in this regard in the CBI special court two months ago. Despite the statements of some of the accused, no case was made out against Mr Kumar or senior Janata Dal (United) leader Shivanand Tiwari due to lack of corroborative evidence or any quid pro quo being established.

Mr Rai also warned that several skeletons, which may implicate even BJP leaders, might tumble out of the closet if BJP leaders continue to make such statements based on allegations by a few accused.

"It's an open secret that at the time, due to influence by Lalu Prasad, a section of CBI officials recorded statements of some accused implicating NDA leaders but that doesn't mean we will forget that reality now and indulge in mudslinging just for the sake of scoring brownie points over our rival," warned Mr Roy.

In its next affidavit, to be filed before November 22 in the Ranchi High Court, the CBI is likely to repeat the same statement that no case was made out against Mr Kumar, but that has not stopped all parties from hurling charges and counter charges at each other.

Credits: ndtv

Rabri Devi to lead RJD

The decision to anoint her was taken at a crucial meeting of RJD MPs, MLAs, MLCs and senior party functionaries at Rabri Devi's residence here during the day.

Rabri Devi.


Rabri Devi, wife of incarcerated RJD chief Lalu Prasad and former Bihar chief minister, will lead the party in his absence, its National General Secretary Ramkripal Yadav said on Sunday.

The decision to anoint her was taken at a crucial meeting of RJD MPs, MLAs, MLCs and senior party functionaries at Rabri Devi's residence here during the day.

"Prasad is our leader and will remain so in future...In his absence Rabri will guide us as she had done in the past," Yadav told reporters after emerging from the meeting.

Prasad is in a Ranchi jail after being convicted in a fodder scam case by a CBI court which handed him five years' imprisonment.

Expressing faith in the higher judiciary and in the people, Yadav, a trusted lieutenant of the couple, said, "Prasad will come out unscathed (when he moves the high court) and will lead us once again in future."

The RJD leaders and workers have pledged to remain united in this "hour of crisis" and expressed their determination to expose the conspiracy of JD(U) and BJP to get Prasad framed in the fodder scam case.

The party leaders and workers would go to villages and tell the people about the "conspiracy", he said adding "We will expose both JD(U) and BJP and give a befitting reply to the communal forces."

RJD national spokesman Iliyas Hussain said the reins of the party still remained in the "strong hands" of Prasad. "He remains the undisputed leader of the party today and will be so in future as well."

Rabri Devi will be the party's guiding force and RJD will carry out its scheduled programmes as usual, he added.

Yadav read out a message from Lalu Yadav in which he greeted the people of Bihar on the occasion of Dusshera, Eid-ul-Azha and Chhath festivals and appealed to the people to maintain communal amity and brotherhood.

RJD state unit president Ramchandra Purve said the party leaders and workers have expressed faith in the leadership of Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi under whose guidance the party's scheduled programmes like the district-level meetings will be completed after the Dusshera festival.

The meeting in all 243 Assembly constituencies will take place from next month, he added.

Credits: dnaindia

Jailed for five years in fodder scam, Lalu still a factor in Bihar

Whichever way one looks at it,Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad, jailed for five years for siphoning off government money, will remain a strong influence on the politics of Bihar.

With Lalu Prasad behind the bars, his rivals are eyeing inroads into his traditional social support base, while the RJD hopes to benefit from the sympathy factor to ensure its support base remains intact.

Lalu Prasad's importance can be gauged from the manner in which his main rivals BJP and JD-U, in hoping for support from his Yadav caste, have chosen against targeting him after his conviction in the fodder scam to avoid antagonising the Yadavs, who constitute more than 11 per cent of Bihar's 105 million population.

Yadavs are considered not only loyal to Lalu Prasad but is also a strong force to counter upper caste dominance in state politics in the last over two decades.

Sensing trouble for Lalu Prasad in the fodder scam case, the BJP appointed a Yadav, Nand Kishore Yadav, as leader of the opposition in the state assembly after JD-U ended its 17-year-old alliance with it in June.

"It was a calculated move to project him to influence the Yadavs, who may be in a dilemma after Lalu Prasad was jailed and there appears to be a leadership vaccum in the RJD. The BJP will exploit this factor to widen its support base among those of Lalu Prasad's caste," a BJP leader said.

In the caste-driven politics of Bihar, the BJP is well aware that other backward castes like Kurmis to which Chief Minister Nitish Kumar belongs, are solidly behind him while the Koeris are not behind any single political party or leader.

Till date, the BJP is seen as a party that enjoys overwhelming support of the upper castes and backward castes like Baniyas.

"The BJP will try to eat into Lalu Prasad's support base but it will not be an easy task," another BJP leader said.

But JD-U MP Shivanand Tiwari, who was once close to Lalu Prasad, said the Yadavs will not ditch the jailed leader in his hour of crisis. "Lalu's castemen will come out in support of him to express their sympathy," he said.

RJD MP Ram Kirpal Yadav said that in this time of crisis, "the party is united and intact". Lalu Prasad is the soul of the RJD and his popularity will now increase among his traditional supporters," Kirpal Yadav said.

RJD activists fear that the Congress will now happily dump the RJD and go with Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United (JD-U).

JD-U leaders hope that Muslims, who constitute 16.5 per cent of the population, will now be attracted towards the party, in part because of the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

"It is a fact that Nitish Kumar dumped BJP over Modi and that will help the party gain more support among Muslims," JD-U leader Sanjay Singh said.

BJP and JD-U leaders had repeatedly claimed that Lalu Prasad's vote bank was already shattered and this was evident during the 2010 assembly elections and the 2009 Lok Sabhapolls.

Credits: economictimes

What work will inmate Lalu Prasad do in jail?

Officials of the Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi are yet to decide what job they should allot to RJD president Lalu Prasad.

"As per the jail manual, a convict is given about a week time to prepare for appeal against the lower court's verdict. Only after that process is over, the jail superintendent allots work depending upon the skills of a convict," a senior official of the jail said here today.

"So, he (Lalu) has not been allotted any work as yet," the official added. Hinting that Lalu could be attached with literacy campaign work, IG (Prison) Sailendra Bhusan said, "You are aware that literacy campaign is going on in different jails."

Mr Bhusan, however, evaded a direct reply when asked if the RJD president would be given a teacher's job to teach the illiterate prisoners.

"We can't rule that out," he said, but added that no decision has been taken yet.

According to his profile in the Lok Sabha website, the former Bihar chief minister is a "law graduate".

Lalu is currently lodged as an upper division convict in the Birsa Munda Central Jail following his five-year-long Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) awarded by a CBI court in a fodder scam case.

Another former Bihar chief minister Jagannath Mishra, who was awarded four years RI, however, may not have to work inside the jail for the time being due to his ill health.

Mr Mishra is admitted to a hospital soon after being convicted along with Lalu and 43 others by the court of Pravas Kumar Singh on September 30.

Mr Bhusan said, "In jail there are works for which skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers are needed. Work is allotted according to the ability of a prisoner. No work is forced on any one."

The health and age of a convict were also taken into consideration before allotting his/her a work.

The official said the jail has also manufacturing units for making blankets, soap and other materials, besides gardening.

Credits: ndtv

Not just Lalu: Nitish Kumar also involved in fodder scam?

Patna: If Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad is in jail, why is Chief Minister Nitish Kumar free? That is the big question doing the rounds in the political circles in Bihar at the moment. After all, didn’t one of the prime accused in the fodder scandal, Shyam Bihari Sinha, confess to the CBI that he also paid Nitish, (in the Samata Party then), Rs 1 crore of the scam money as election expenditure in 1994? It was finally Lalu’s association with Sinha, the central figure in the scam, which saw him thrown behind bars. Bihar’s opposition parties have started raking up the issue with great energy after the conviction of the RJD chief, particularly after the Jharkhand High Court on 20 

September directed the CBI to explain why Nitish and his party colleague Shivanand Tiwari should not be arraigned as accused in the fodder scam. PTI PTI Tiwari, according to Sinha’s confession, had demanded and received Rs 30-35 lakh from the syndicate of scamsters.

 The court has asked CBI to file its reply by 22 November, when it is scheduled to be taken up for hearing. If the agency fails to come up with a convincing reply, Nitish could be in serious trouble. The court was responding to a writ petition filed by a social activist Mithilesh Kumar Singh based on the confessional statement of Sinha obtained via RTI. 

The statement of Sinha reveals, according to Singh, that the scam money was given to scores of politicians, including RJD chief Lalu Prasad, Nitish Kumar, Shivanand Tiwari and others. “If on the very basis (of the confessional statement of Sinha), Lalu Prasad, Jagannath Mishra and others could be made accused in the fodder scam, why did the CBI refuse to include the names of Nitish Kumar and Shivanand Tiwari in the list of the accused?” asked Singh. According to documents, which Singh claims to be in his possession, Sinha had paid money to Nitish Kumar in two installments—first Rs 1.40 crore for election purposes and then Rs 5.50 lakh for shopping by the leader during his trip to Australia. The air ticket, too, was arranged by the scamsters. He alleged that Shivanand Tiwari was paid money in three installments.

 “I have sufficient proof against Nitish Kumar and his colleagues,” said Singh. Smelling blood, the entire opposition – the BJP, the CPI-ML and even the RJD – has virtually ganged up on Nitish, demanding that the CBI also make the Bihar chief minister an accused in the scam. The parties have started hitting the street over the demand and mobilizing public opinion. The development has left the chief minister worried. It partly explains why he has suddenly gone silent, not even reacting to the incarceration of his arch rival in Bihar politics.

 “The CBI’s silence over the involvement of Nitish Kumar, Shivanand Tiwari, Lalan Singh and others in the fodder scam is mysterious and we want to know why their names have been left out,” CPI-ML general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said at a press conference in Patna. “Were the leaders let off because they were with the NDA government at the Centre when the CBI started investigating the case? BJP leader Ravishankar Prasad is now saying that there was proof of Mr Kumar’s involvement in the fodder scam case too,” he added. 

The fodder scam had surfaced in 1996 and a year latter, Lalu, who was the chief minister of Bihar then, was sent to jail after being chargesheeted. He had hoped for reprieve from the United Front government – of which Lalu’s Janata Dal was a key ally – at the Centre headed by two prime ministers, HD Deve Gowda and then IK Gujaral. However, it collapsed in two years after a shaky existence. It followed the formation of the NDA government headed by AB Vajpayee. It brought more trouble for Lalu and relief to Nitish, who was then a partner in the ruling alliance. BJP leader Ravishankar Prasad, who was the lawyer for Sushil Kumar Modi, a petitioner who had filed a PIL in the court in the fodder scam, has also gone public, saying Nitish would follow Lalu.

 “Elder brother (Lalu Prasad) is in jail (in the fodder scam) and it is now the turn of the younger brother (Nitish Kumar). His (Mr Kumar’s) name figures in the fodder scam and hence he too will have to go to jail,” Prasad told a party rally. Sushil Kumar Modi, former deputy chief minister and one of the original petitioners in the scam, said. “The imprisonment of Nitish Kumar and his colleagues is inevitable,” he told the media. However, Shivanand Tiwari denies all such allegations. “Such allegations against us are quite old and I will welcome it if the CBI investigates our involvement in the case,” Tiwari has been quoted as saying in a local daily, reacting to allegations against them. 

Another senior leader and minister in the Nitish Kumar government, Bhim Singh, refused comment. Senior BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy has attacked the chief minister, saying the latter’s growing closeness to the Congress was possibly an outcome of the apprehension that the CBI could frame him in the fodder scam. “It’s high time Nitish Kumar should tell the masses what forced him to close ranks with the Congress” said Rudy. All eyes are now fixed on the reply CBI submits to the court. If Nitish also falls prey to the scam, the politics of Bihar would be headed for uncertain times.

Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/india/not-just-lalu-nitish-kumar-also-involved-in-fodder-scam-1151953.html?utm_source=ref_article

Firstpost India Not just Lalu: Nitish Kumar also involved in fodder scam? by Manoj Kumar Oct 4, 2013 #bIhar #BJP #CBI #Fodder Scam #HD Deve Gowda #HowThisWorks #India #Jharkhand High Court #Lalu Prasad Yadav #Mithilesh Kumar Singh #Nitish Kumar #Politics #Ravishankar Prasad #RJD #Shivnand Tewari #Sushil Kumar Modi 26 0 2 41 CommentsEmailPrint Patna: If Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad is in jail, why is Chief Minister Nitish Kumar free? That is the big question doing the rounds in the political circles in Bihar at the moment. After all, didn’t one of the prime accused in the fodder scandal, Shyam Bihari Sinha, confess to the CBI that he also paid Nitish, (in the Samata Party then), Rs 1 crore of the scam money as election expenditure in 1994? It was finally Lalu’s association with Sinha, the central figure in the scam, which saw him thrown behind bars. Bihar’s opposition parties have started raking up the issue with great energy after the conviction of the RJD chief, particularly after the Jharkhand High Court on 20 September directed the CBI to explain why Nitish and his party colleague Shivanand Tiwari should not be arraigned as accused in the fodder scam. PTI PTI Tiwari, according to Sinha’s confession, had demanded and received Rs 30-35 lakh from the syndicate of scamsters. The court has asked CBI to file its reply by 22 November, when it is scheduled to be taken up for hearing. If the agency fails to come up with a convincing reply, Nitish could be in serious trouble. The court was responding to a writ petition filed by a social activist Mithilesh Kumar Singh based on the confessional statement of Sinha obtained via RTI. The statement of Sinha reveals, according to Singh, that the scam money was given to scores of politicians, including RJD chief Lalu Prasad, Nitish Kumar, Shivanand Tiwari and others. “If on the very basis (of the confessional statement of Sinha), Lalu Prasad, Jagannath Mishra and others could be made accused in the fodder scam, why did the CBI refuse to include the names of Nitish Kumar and Shivanand Tiwari in the list of the accused?” asked Singh. According to documents, which Singh claims to be in his possession, Sinha had paid money to Nitish Kumar in two installments—first Rs 1.40 crore for election purposes and then Rs 5.50 lakh for shopping by the leader during his trip to Australia. The air ticket, too, was arranged by the scamsters. He alleged that Shivanand Tiwari was paid money in three installments. “I have sufficient proof against Nitish Kumar and his colleagues,” said Singh. Smelling blood, the entire opposition – the BJP, the CPI-ML and even the RJD – has virtually ganged up on Nitish, demanding that the CBI also make the Bihar chief minister an accused in the scam. The parties have started hitting the street over the demand and mobilizing public opinion. The development has left the chief minister worried. It partly explains why he has suddenly gone silent, not even reacting to the incarceration of his arch rival in Bihar politics. “The CBI’s silence over the involvement of Nitish Kumar, Shivanand Tiwari, Lalan Singh and others in the fodder scam is mysterious and we want to know why their names have been left out,” CPI-ML general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said at a press conference in Patna. “Were the leaders let off because they were with the NDA government at the Centre when the CBI started investigating the case? BJP leader Ravishankar Prasad is now saying that there was proof of Mr Kumar’s involvement in the fodder scam case too,” he added. The fodder scam had surfaced in 1996 and a year latter, Lalu, who was the chief minister of Bihar then, was sent to jail after being chargesheeted. He had hoped for reprieve from the United Front government – of which Lalu’s Janata Dal was a key ally – at the Centre headed by two prime ministers, HD Deve Gowda and then IK Gujaral. However, it collapsed in two years after a shaky existence. It followed the formation of the NDA government headed by AB Vajpayee. It brought more trouble for Lalu and relief to Nitish, who was then a partner in the ruling alliance. BJP leader Ravishankar Prasad, who was the lawyer for Sushil Kumar Modi, a petitioner who had filed a PIL in the court in the fodder scam, has also gone public, saying Nitish would follow Lalu. “Elder brother (Lalu Prasad) is in jail (in the fodder scam) and it is now the turn of the younger brother (Nitish Kumar). His (Mr Kumar’s) name figures in the fodder scam and hence he too will have to go to jail,” Prasad told a party rally. Sushil Kumar Modi, former deputy chief minister and one of the original petitioners in the scam, said. “The imprisonment of Nitish Kumar and his colleagues is inevitable,” he told the media. However, Shivanand Tiwari denies all such allegations. “Such allegations against us are quite old and I will welcome it if the CBI investigates our involvement in the case,” Tiwari has been quoted as saying in a local daily, reacting to allegations against them. Another senior leader and minister in the Nitish Kumar government, Bhim Singh, refused comment. Senior BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy has attacked the chief minister, saying the latter’s growing closeness to the Congress was possibly an outcome of the apprehension that the CBI could frame him in the fodder scam. “It’s high time Nitish Kumar should tell the masses what forced him to close ranks with the Congress” said Rudy. All eyes are now fixed on the reply CBI submits to the court. If Nitish also falls prey to the scam, the politics of Bihar would be headed for uncertain times.

Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/india/not-just-lalu-nitish-kumar-also-involved-in-fodder-scam-1151953.html?utm_source=ref_article

லாலுவுக்கு சிறை தண்டனை: மேல்முறையீடு செய்வோம்- ஆர்.ஜே.டி!

தீவன ஊழல் வழக்கில் பீகார் முன்னாள் முதல்வரும் ராஷ்டிரிய ஜனதா தளத் தலைவருமான லாலு பிரசாத் யாதவுக்கு 5 ஆண்டுகாலம் சிறைத் தண்டனை விதிக்கப்பட்டிருப்பதை எதிர்த்து மேல்முறையீடு செய்வோம் என்று ராஷ்டிரிய ஜனதா தளம்(ஆர்.ஜே.டி) தெரிவித்துள்ளது. 

அதே நேரத்தில் காங்கிரஸ் மற்றும் பாரதிய ஜனதா கட்சித் தலைவர்கள் இத்தண்டனையை வரவேற்றுள்ளனர். லாலுவின் ராஷ்டிரிய ஜனதா தளத்தினரோ, இத்தண்டனையை எதிர்த்து மேல்முறையீடு செய்வோம் என்று கூறியுள்ளனர். இது குறித்து கருத்து தெரிவித்த அக்கட்சியின் செய்தித் தொடர்பாளர் மனோஜ் ஜா, நாங்கள் எப்போதும்போல ஒற்றுமையுடன் இருக்கிறோம். எங்களது ஆதரவு தளம் அப்படியே இருக்கிறது. லாலுதான் எங்களது தலைவர். லாலு மிகவும் அப்பாவி. நாங்கள் மேல்முறையீடு செய்வோம் என்றார். 

அக்கட்சியின் மூத்த தலைவர் ரகுவன்ஸ் பிரசாத், நிச்சயம் லாலு பிரசாத் சிறையில் இருந்து வெளியே வருவார் என்று நம்பிக்கை தெரிவித்திருக்கிறார். பாரதிய ஜனதாவின் செய்தித் தொடர்பாளர் ரவிசங்கர் பிரசாத் கூறூகையில், ஊழல்வாதிகள் சட்டத்தின் பிடியில் சிக்கியே தீர வேண்டும் என்பதை இத்தண்டனை விவரம் உறுதிப்படுத்தியிருக்கிறது என்றார். 

காங்கிரஸ் கட்சியின் ஜெகதாம்பிகா பால், ஊழல் முறைகேடுகளில் சிக்கினால் இதுபோன்ற தண்டனையை அனுபவிக்க நேரிடும் என்பதை எம்.எல்.ஏ, எம்.பிக்கள் உணர்ந்து கொள்ள வேண்டும் என்றார்.

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லாலுவிற்கு 5 ஆண்டு சிறை

ரூ. 38 கோடி , கால்நடை தீவன ஊழல் வழக்கில் ராஷ்ட்ரீய ஜனாத தள கட்சித்தலைவர் லாலுபிரசாத் யாதவிற்கு சிறப்பு கோர்ட் ஐந்து ஆண்டுகள் தண்டனை விதித்து தீர்ப்பளித்தது. கடந்த செப். 30-ம் தேதி நடந்த விசாரணையில் லாலு உள்ளிட்ட 45 பேர் குற்றவாளி என அறிவிக்கப்பட்டனர். தண்டனை விபரம் ஒத்தி வைக்கப்பட்டு, இன்று அறிவிக்கப்பட்டது. அப்போது, லாலுவிற்கு 5 ஆண்டுகள் சிறை தண்டனை விதித்து நீதிபதி தீர்ப்பளித்தார்.

LIVE: Lalu Prasad Yadav sentenced to five years in prison for Fodder Scam

Lalu Yadav, convicted in the fodder scam, was sentenced to five years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs 25 lakh. He also stands disqualified from the parliament post sentencing.

Former Bihar chief minister Jagannath Mishra and Janata Dal-United MP Jagdish Sharma too were sentenced to four years imprisonment in the case.

RJD spokesperson states that they will appeal the sentence in a higher court.

The sentencing infodder scam case announced today by the CBI court that has convicted 44 individuals including Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad Yadav

As Yadav's lawyer completed arguments in the case on September 17, special CBI Judge PK Singh will pronounce the judgment in the case No RC 20 A/96 today. Yadav moved the Jharkhand High Court and later the Supreme Court, seeking change of the judge in the case.Both the courts dismissed his petition, and directed him to complete argument in the case before the CBI court. Yadav had in his petition alleged that trial court judge PK Singh was biased against him as he is a relative of PK Shahi, Education Minister in the Nitish Kumar Government in Bihar, "who is his (Yadav''s) biggest political enemy".

Authorities in Bihar sounded an alert across the state, apprehending trouble after the court pronounced verdict in a multi-crore fodder scam case involving Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav.

The case pertains to alleged fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 37.7 crore from Chaibasa Treasury in the 1990s. The FIR was lodged by Bihar government in February 1996 but the case was transferred to CBI a month later. CBI had investigated the scam for a year and the charge sheet was filed in 1997. The charges were framed in 2000 following which the Special CBI court commenced trial against Lalu Yadav and 44 other accused.

RJD's plea had faced stiff opposition from JD-U leader Rajiv Ranjan who submitted that it would be a ‘travesty of justice’ if the judge is transferred at the far end of the trial. He submitted that it would give a wrong impression to the entire country if the judge is transferred and raised a question on RJD supremo's petition seeking transfer of the judge who has been hearing the case since 2011.

The fodder scam also known as "Chara Ghotala" involved the siphoning of funds from the Bihar Government treasury. The alleged theft spanned over several years, and many Bihar state government administrative and elected officials across multiple administrations were allegedly engaged in it.

Additionally, there are also allegations that they were involved in the fabrication of "vast herds of fictitious livestock" for which fodder, medicines and animal husbandry equipment was supposedly procured. The fodder scam was unearthed in Bihar in 1996 when Lalu Prasad was the Chief Minister of the state. He had resigned from the post in 1997 after a court issued an arrest warrant against him in connection with one of the cases.

Besides the RJD supremo, other accused persons include former Bihar Chief Minister Mishra and JD(U) MP Jagdish Sharma.

The judgement in the fodder scam is likely to have a bearing on Bihar politics, as the RJD chief will face immediate disqualification as a Lok Sabha member if convicted as per a Supreme Court order that an MP or legislator would stand disqualified immediately if convicted by a court for crimes with punishment of two years or more.

The government later promulgated an ordinance to undo the apex court order, prompting opposition BJP to allege that it had been done to protect Lau Prasad Yadav in case he is indicted in the fodder scam.

Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi has, however, slammed the ordinance as "complete nonsense" which should be "torn up and thrown away," leaving its fate uncertain.

The RJD chief faces immediate disqualification as Lok Sabha member under a recent Supreme Court order that an MP or MLA would stand disqualified immediately if convicted by a court for crimes with punishment of two years or more and under some other laws even without jail sentence.

The August judgement of the Supreme Court struck down a provision in the electoral law that provided protection to sitting MPs and MLAs by allowing them to continue in their posts if they appeal against a lower court conviction and secure a stay of the order.

Lalu would have got protection from disqualification if the ordinance promulgated by the Centre was cleared by President Pranab Mukherjee but he is said to have some reservations and raised questions over it.

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi has compounded problems by attacking the ordinance and calling for its withdrawal, virtually sealing its fate.

RJD spokesperson Manoj Jha said they would challenge the order in a higher court after the sentence is known.

We will fight this issue electorally: Lalu's son Tejaswi

"We will appeal in the high court against the order. We will also take up the issue in the people's court. We will give a fitting reply in the polls," Tejsawi told reporters after his father was taken to jail.

Lok Janshakti Party president Ram Vilas Paswan on Monday said that the law is taking its own course in the fodder scam case surrounding former Bihar chief ministers Jagannath Mishra and Lalu Prasad Yadav, and assured his party’s full support to the RJD during this tough time.

Meanwhile, expressing his sadness over Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad Yadav’s conviction in connection with the multi-crore fodder scam, Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh said the former will provide evidences of his innocence before a higher court.

RJD Chief Lalu Prasad will appeal in the Jharkhand High Court against his conviction in a fodder scam case, his family said on Monday and alleged he had fallen victim to 'conspiracy' by his rivals.

Credits: dnaindia