The Supreme Court on Wednesday, 10 April, refused bail to Lalu Prasad Yadav a day after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) strongly opposed his plea, saying he was likely to indulge in political activities ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief is currently serving jail term in connection with fodder scam cases. His bail plea was rejected in all the three cases of the multi-crore fodder scam.
These three cases in which he has been convicted are related to the over Rs 900-crore fodder scam, which pertains to fraudulent withdrawal of money from the treasuries in the Animal Husbandry department in the early 1990s, when Jharkhand was part of Bihar.
The RJD chief – lodged in the Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi – had challenged the 10 January verdict of the Jharkhand High Court dismissing his bail plea.
CBI’s Strong Opposition to Lalu’s Bail Plea
The CBI on Tuesday, 9 April, further said that Yadav has been in a hospital ward for over eight months – and indulging in political activities.
"During the period in which the petitioner (Lalu Yadav) remained in hospital, he is not only granted a special paying ward with all facilities but he is virtually conducting his political activities from there which would be clear form the list of visitors," the CBI in its reply said.
The agency further said Yadav who claimed to be so unwell that he cannot even remain in jail has now suddenly become physically fit and is seeking bail.
"It is submitted that simultaneous raising of pleas for bails on medical grounds and bail to guide the party and to carry out all essential responsibilities as a party president in ensuing Lok Sabha elections are mutually contradictory and manifest that in the garb of bail on medical ground the petitioner in essence wants to pursue his political activities which is impermissible in law," the CBI said.
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