Press "Enter" to skip to content

Lalu to face trial in fodder scam case, says SC

Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav suffered a major setback on Monday as the Supreme Court ruled that the former Bihar CM would stand trial for conspiracy charges in the fodder scam case.

Prasad will face charges including criminal conspiracy and fraud in the fresh trial. The apex court bench comprising justices Amitava Roy and PC Ghose also directed the state to conclude trial within nine months.

The apex court set aside a ruling of the Jharkhand high court that dropped certain charges on the grounds that a person once convicted or acquitted cannot to be tried for the same offence again.

The Central Bureau of Investigation had appealed against the high court ruling.

In October 2013, Prasad was convicted by a special CBI court in Ranchi and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment in one of the cases arising out of the fodder scam, as a consequence of which he was disqualified from contesting any election for 11 years. He moved the Jharkhand high court challenging the verdict of the CBI court.

READ MORE INTERESTING FEATURES BELOW

The fodder scam relates to fraudulent withdrawal of around Rs 1,000 crore by the animal husbandry department from various districts during Prasad’s tenure as Bihar chief minister from 1990 to 1997.

Source: Rediff