Got calls from your well-wishers, but I’ll follow law: Judge to Lalu
RANCHI: A CBI judge who convicted Lalu Prasad in a fodder scam case told the former Bihar chief minister on Thursday that he got “phone calls from your well-wishers” but “will only follow the law” when he announces the quantum of punishment.
The judge, Shivpal Singh, made the remarks after the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief urged him to be lenient for fraudulent withdrawals of ₹89.27 lakh from the Deoghar treasury between 1991 and 1994.
“I got phone calls from your well-wishers after your conviction but don’t worry, I will follow only law,” the judge said, without elaborating. Singh had on December 23 convicted Prasad and 15 others in the 21-year-old case.
“It’s between the judge and Prasad. We were not aware of someone making phone call to the judge, who is free to take legal action against the caller,” Prasad’s lawyer Prabhat Kumar said. The brief conversation took place soon after the 69-year-old leader was brought to the court from the Birsa Munda Central jail, where he has been lodged after being found guilty. The court recorded arguments of five convicts in alphabetic order — from A to K — and the adjourned hearing for Friday 2pm, when Prasad’s advocate will get a chance to speak.
“Aarguments could be done through video-conferencing. We can’t say if the court will pronounce quantum of sentence on Saturday,” Prasad’s lawyer said.