In a major setback to RJD chief lalu Prasad, the Jharkhand High Court on Thursday rejected the transfer petition filed by him seeking transfer of one of the fodder scam cases RC64A/96 to some other court on the ground of apprehension that he might not get justice from there.
Accusing Special CBI Judge Shivpal Singh hearing two fodder scam cases, of being ‘rude’ to a defence witness, the RJD chief had sought transfer of one of his cases RC64A/96 to some other court.
After hearing arguments from both sides on Friday last, the orders in the case had been kept reserved by the Court of Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh.
“The court today rejected the transfer petition for not having merit in the case as there was no concrete ground on which it could be said that the petitioner was not getting fair trial by the court,” said his advocate Prabhat Kumar. lalu, however, has been given liberty of getting his witness examined again by filing a petition in the court and an appropriate order may be passed by the concerned court in this regard, he added.
Incidentally, Sunil Kumar, presently posted as DG – cum- MD- Bihar Police Building Construction Corporation, was examined by the Special CBI Court as a defence witness after lalu’s advocate refused to examine him on the ground that the transfer petition was pending in the High Court.
lalu’s counsel had alleged that the Special CBI Court all of a sudden ripped apart the deposition sheet, while recording the statement of Kumar after it got annoyed as soon as it found him to be of SC category saying that Kumar will not be examined by the court any more on August 3 as he had been summoned on August 10. Earlier, the Court had agreed to examine him on August 3 as he was present in Ranchi to record his statement in another case.
The CBI Advocate, on the other hand, had argued in the High Court that lalu had been in the habit of filing such petitions earlier also with an intention to delay the fodder scam cases while the Supreme Court has directed trial courts that the trial in all the four cases was to be completed within 9 months.
Meanwhile, Brigadier RP Nautial recorded his statement in the Court as 12th witness in RC64A/96 and 16th witness in RC68A/96 on Thursday in the courts of Special CBI Courts Shivpal Singh and SS Prasad respectively.
RC64A/96 relates to alleged withdrawal of Rs 85 lakh against an allotment of Rs 4.73 lakh using 250 vouchers and 17 fake allotment letters between 1991 and 1994 from Deoghar treasury and is being heard in the court of Special CBI Judge Shivpal Singh.
Presently, defense witnesses are being examined in two of the fodder scam cases – RC64A/96 and RC68A/96 while prosecution witnesses are being examined in RC47A/96 on day to day to day basis.