Fodder scam: SC grants bail to Lalu Prasad Yadav on grounds of parity

The Supreme Court today granted Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad bail in connection with the fodder scam case in which he has been sentenced to five years in jail. The apex court has granted bail on the grounds of parity with others convicted in the case, CNN-IBN reported. A bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam granted bail after noting that several other similarly placed convicts have already been granted bail in the case. The bench also comprising Justice Ranjan Gogoi, however, left it to the trial court to decide the bail bonds, sureties and other conditions to be imposed on the former Member of Parliament. CBI, which is the prosecuting agency in the case, did not oppose Prasad’s bail plea. Senior counsel Ram Jethmalani on 30 November told the court that 44 people were convicted in the case, of whom 37 have already been granted bail and bail applications of six others are under consideration. Jethmalani told the court that except for Lalu Prasad, no other convict has been refused bail. He said that another convict who too has been awarded five years imprisonment has been released on bail. [caption id=“attachment_1285255” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption]Lalu Prasad’s petition for grant of bail was mentioned before the apex court on 25 November, and the court had directed its listing Friday. The RJD chief has challenged the Jharkhand High Court’s 31 October interim order rejecting his plea for bail during the pendency of his appeal against the trial court order sentencing him to undergo an imprisonment of five years and a two fines totaling to Rs. 25 lakhs. Faulting the high court order, Lalu Prasad’s petition said that RK Rana who too was convicted for the same offence as he was and awarded five years rigorous imprisonment was granted bail six days before his bail plea was rejected. The petition said that in 2009, Rana was convicted in another case relating to animal husbandry department and was sentenced to undergo sentence of five years. He further contended that another convict - the then animal husbandry minister - who was given three year sentence was granted bail by the trial court itself. “The petitioner (Lalu Prasad) has been treated differently in the matter of grant of bail in as much as some of the co-accused, who are similarly situated, have been granted bail,” the petition said. He said that entire case of prosecution was based on circumstantial evidence and the evidence of two approvers that too was based on hearsay evidence which was inadmissible in the court. He also sought to allay apprehension that he may disappear in the event of being granted bail, saying he had been a chief minister and the railway minister, is the leader of a political party “and until the date of his conviction in the present case, was a sitting member of parliament”. A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Ranchi 30 September convicted Lalu Prasad, another former Bihar chief minister Jagannath Mishra, Janata Dal-United MP Jagdish Sharma and others in a fodder scam case, related to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs.37.70 crore from Chaibasa treasury during 1994-1995 when Lalu Prasad was the chief minister. with agency inputs