India / Lalu granted bail in case linked to fodder scam; likely to be released from jail

Ranchi: RJD supremo Lalu Prasad has got a big relief. The Jharkhand High Court on Saturday granted him bail with conditions in connection with the illegal withdrawal from the Dumka treasury of the fodder scam. Lalu Prasad will come out of jail after about 40 months. Lalu is currently unwell and is undergoing treatment at AIIMS in Delhi.

4 out of 5 cases have already got bail

There were five cases against Lalu Prasad in Jharkhand. He has got bail in four cases. The fifth case relates to illegal evacuation from the Doranda treasury. The hearing in the case is still going on in the CBI court. The court of Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh has directed Lalu Prasad to pay a personal bond of one lakh and a fine of one million. Lalu Prasad will have to submit his passport. They will not be able to go abroad without the permission of the court. He has been instructed by the court not to change his mobile number and address.

Lalu Prasad had sought bail on the basis of his health and half of the sentence he received in the Dumka treasury case. In favor of Lalu, senior advocate Kapil Sibal told the court that the CBI court has sentenced him to seven years. Prasad has spent 42 months in jail on April 6 itself. Half of his sentence has been completed. For this reason, he should be granted bail. The Supreme Court has also ordered grant of bail in several cases after completing half the sentence.

CBI opposed bail

Lalu Prasad was opposed to bail by the CBI. The CBI said that Lalu Prasad has been sentenced to seven years in the IPC and seven years under the PC Act by the CBI court in the Dumka treasury. The CBI court has ordered the two sentences to run separately. In such a situation, Lalu Prasad got a total of 14 years in the illegal clearance from the Dumka treasury. Only after spending seven years in jail will his half sentence be completed. In this way half of his sentence is not fulfilled. Therefore, he is not entitled to bail.

This argument of CBI was opposed by Kapil Sibal. He told the court that several other accused in this case have been granted bail only after taking a seven-year sentence. In those cases the CBI did not make this argument, then in the case of Lalu Prasad, this new argument cannot be given. The court also did not accept the CBI's plea and granted bail to Lalu Prasad with certain conditions.