The Supreme Court, while postponing the hearing on the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) petition challenging the bail granted to Lalu Prasad Yadav in the fodder scam case, remarked that reinstating him in prison would be challenging. The matter is now scheduled for a hearing in January. Justices AS Bopanna and MM Sundresh made this observation during the CBI’s appeal against the bail granted by the Jharkhand High Court to the 74-year-old former Union minister and ex-Bihar chief minister in April of the previous year.
The bench noted that even if they ruled in favor of the CBI, returning Lalu Prasad Yadav to prison would be difficult, as he has been granted bail in several fodder scam cases, some of which date back four years. The CBI argued that the high court’s bail grant was based on an “erroneous assumption” that the sentences in multiple fodder scam cases were to run concurrently rather than consecutively.
According to the CBI, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s sentences should be served consecutively, resulting in a 14-year term. When bail was granted, he had only served approximately one year of his sentence. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Lalu Prasad Yadav, questioned the CBI’s urgency in seeking a hearing after a 14-month delay, suggesting that the sole purpose was to keep him in jail to prevent his presence during the 2024 general elections.
Sibal emphasized that his client had been released by the High Court due to his medical condition and advanced age, having recently undergone a kidney transplant and already serving a 42-month sentence in the fodder scam cases.
