The hearing of the bail petition of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) President Lalu Prasad was deferred for another six weeks on Friday.
Justice Apresh Kumar Singh of the Jharkhand High court deferred the hearing of the case after the lawyer of Lalu Prasad sought time to file reply on the arguments of the CBI. The CBI has opposed the bail plea citing that Lalu Prasad has not yet completed half of his jail term.
The CBI also demanded that Lalu Prasad be sent back to the Birsa Munda central jail from the paying ward of the Rajendra Institute of Medical Science (RIMS) here.
The lawyer of the RJD chief said that the latter has still not received the certified copy of the punishment awarded to him by the Ranchi CBI court. He said that he has applied for the same in the CBI court and expected to get it in another 10-15 days. Lalu Prasad's lawyer pleaded that after getting the Ranchi court order, a reply will be filed.
During the last hearing, the CBI had opposed the bail plea claiming that Lalu Prasad has not completed half the tenure of his imprisonment and therefore he is not eligible for bail.
On Thursday, the CBI had also filed a supplementary affidavit in the court in which Lalu Prasad has been accused of violating the jail manual. The probe agency claimed that since the health condition of Lalu Prasad is stable now, he should be sent back to the Birsa Munda central jail.
A special CBI court had awarded a total of 14 years of imprisonment to Lalu Prasad in the Dumka Treasury case related to the Fodder Scam. Lalu Prasad has been in jail since December 23, 2017 after he was held guilty in the multi crore Fodder Scam.
Lalu Prasad has got bail in two cases of Fodder Scam related to Chaibasa Treasury and Deoghar Treasury. The present bail hearing is connected to the Dumka Treasury case.
