Jharkhand High Court on Thursday refused bail to RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav in three fodder scam cases related to fraudulent withdrawal of money from Dumka, Deoghar and Chaibasa treasuries.
Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh delivered the order in the afternoon after a notification in this regard was issued an hour earlier. Notably, the court had on January 4 reserved its order after completion of argument on bail petition.
CBI lawyer and Assistant Solicitor General of India Rajiv Sinha informed that the order rejecting Lalu bail petitions was read out in the court. He said the court judgment was very satisfying for him.
Sinha said during the hearing Lalu’s lawyer Kapil Sibal did not come up with any fresh argument barring that Lalu needed to work for his party before the general elections and that his medical condition was bad.
He said that the court did not pay attention to argument related to Lalu’s political commitments. He added CBI had also attached medical report of Lalu to establish that the latter’s condition was not critical even though he is taking medicines for several diseases. He added that Lalu could petition the court if his health deteriorates. He added that the other arguments presented by Lalu’s lawyers were same as the ones presented during a hearing on bail petition related to Deoghar treasury earlier.
As court had rejected the bail petition in the Deoghar case on merits we were not expecting a fresh order. Lalu has been awarded 14 years imprisonment in Rs 3.13 crore Dumka treasury fodder scam, five-year sentence in connection with Rs 33.63 crore Chaibasa treasury scam and 3.5 years term in Rs 89 lakh Deoghar treasury scam. He is undergoing treatment in Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences for various ailments including diabetes, high blood pressure and heart and kidney problems.