Jharkhand HC grants bail to Lalu in fifth fodder scam
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief, Lalu Prasad Yadav, was on Friday granted bail by the Jharkhand High Court in the Rs. 139.35-crore Doranda Treasury fodder scam case. According to his lawyer, the HC took into account the veteran politician's health condition while taking the decision. In February, Yadav was sentenced to five years in prison by a CBI special court in this case.
Why does this story matter?
A CBI court in February found Lalu Yadav guilty of illegal withdrawal of funds from the Doranda Treasury, which was his fifth fodder scam case conviction. It involved a whopping amount of Rs. 139.35 crore, which was fraudulently withdrawn from the treasury between 1990-91 and 1995-96 in the name of buying fodder, medicines, and equipment for the Animal Husbandry Department.
'He will be released soon': Yadav's lawyer
"We had pleaded that he has served [over] half of his five-year sentence in this case. Against the sentence of 60 months, our client has already served 42 months in jail," said Prabhat Kumar, Yadav's lawyer. "He will be released soon. He will have to deposit Rs. 1 lakh surety amount," Kumar said adding a Rs. 10 lakh fine was also imposed on Yadav.
Timeline of Yadav's conviction in other fodder scam cases
Yadav was found guilty in four other fodder scam-related cases earlier. He was convicted in the first such case related to the Chaibasa Treasury in 2013, and in the second, Deoghar Treasury case in 2017. Later, in January 2018, he was found guilty in another Chaibasa Treasury case. In the fourth case, concerning Dumka Treasury, Yadav was convicted in March 2018.
Yadav granted bail in other related cases too
The fodder scam—involving Rs. 950cr-worth illegal withdrawals from state treasuries—came to the fore in January 1996 following a raid at undivided Bihar's Animal Husbandry Department. In 1997, the CBI enlisted Yadav as an accused and he was subsequently found guilty in all five related cases. However, he has now been granted bail in all these cases involving the Dumka, Deoghar, Chaibasa, and Doranda treasuries.
