Fodder scam: SC dismisses bail plea of Lalu Prasad Yadav

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected RJD supremo Lalu Prasad’s prayer for bail ahead of the crucial 2019 polls, rejecting his claims that he ought to be released on bail as there was no fear that he would flee the country.

“There’s no fear of fleeing, but rightly or wrongly, you have been convicted to 25 years,” Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi said, rejecting the plea.

This drew a sharp rejoinder from senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who appeared for Prasad, that the former Bihar chief minister had been sentenced only to 14 years.


In any case most of the accused in the case have been acquitted, including a minister, Sibal said. He argued that the RJD leader had spent over 24 months in jail over his conviction in four cases and was hardy likely to flee. His appeals are awaiting a hearing, Sibal said.

But Gogoi, sitting alongside Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna, was not convinced.

The Chief Justice of India suggested that he could expedite hearing in the case through special courts set up since to fast-track cases against politicians. The court’s decision came after a CBI affidavit opposing any bail.

The agency claimed that Prasad had avoided jail on medical grounds while simultaneously claiming that he wanted to be out on bail to guide his party ahead of elections. This fact was also recorded by the high court, it had said.