Lalu to stand trial in fodder scam cases
The Supreme Court ruled RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav will stand separate trial in all four fodder scam cases and set aside the Jharkhand High Court order which had dropped conspiracy charges against him
NEW DELHI: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav will face trial in all four fodder scam cases with the Supreme Court on Monday setting aside the Jharkhand High Court order.
The apex court, while setting aside the 2014 order which had stayed the trial against Yadav after conviction in one of the cases, said the high court should have been consistent in its findings and not have given different views for different sets of accused in a case.
It also pulled up the Central Bureau of Investigation for delay in filing appeal against the high court order in the case and said the probe agency’s director should have looked into this important matter and deputed an officer to pursue the case.
The CBI has challenged the 2014 order of the Jharkhand High Court quashing four pending fodder scam cases against him on the grounds that a person convicted in one case could not be tried in similar cases based on same witnesses and evidences.
Meanwhile, hailing the Supreme Court order that Lalu Prasad will face trial in all four fodder scam cases, senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Monday said the verdict means the “end of the road” for the RJD chief in politics. “It’s the end of the road in politics for Lalu Prasad as he is sure to be convicted in three other cases of fodder scam and would be debarred from electoral politics for many more years,” he told reporters.
Politically, the ruling has given advantage to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, he said. “...as a weak Lalu forced to kneel down by the court order will not be able to trouble the (ruling) Grand Alliance much.” Sushil Modi was one of the early petitioners in the scam.
The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the RJD leader will stand separate trial in all four fodder scam cases and set aside the Jharkhand High Court order which had dropped conspiracy charges against him. The SC also directed the trial court to complete the proceedings against the 68-year-old RJD chief and others within nine months.
“Now, for nine months, Lalu Prasad would have no other work but to run to courts in four cases related to the fodder scam,” Sushil Modi, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the state’s Legislative Council, said.
Asked if the BJP would extend its hand to Nitish and work for an NDA rule, the former deputy chief minister replied in the negative. “Why will the BJP invite Nitish Kumar? The BJP is so strong in Bihar today that if an election takes place in the state today it would fetch more than two-thirds of seats on its own,” he said.
Sushil Modi, who has over the past one month levelled serious allegations against Lalu Prasad and his family members for “acquiring benami properties” in the state and outside, said the judgement would weaken the family’s sway in the state politics and trigger “a war of supremacy” among its members.
“Lalu’s family will meet the fate similar to that of Samajwadi Party of Mulayam Singh Yadav where family members now have daggers drawn against each other,” he said.
Prasad’s wife and former chief minister Rabri Devi is a member of Bihar legislative council, their younger son Tejaswi Yadav is the deputy chief minister, elder son Tej Pratap Yadav is the health minister and daughter Misa Bharati is RJD Rajya Sabha member.