Former Bihar Chief Minister and RJD Supremo, Lalu Prasad Yadav, was granted bail in the Dumka treasury case by Jharkhand High Court on Saturday.
The bail petition was decided by Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh.
Yadav was represented in the hearing by Senior lawyer Kapil Sibal in virtual court. Prabhat Kumar, Yadav’s lawyer, also assisted in the hearing.
The court while granting the bail observed that half the sentence has already been served.
The case pertains to the alleged withdrawal of Rs. 3. 76 Crores from the Dumka treasury between 1995 to 1996 using forged documents showing fictitious purchase of animal feed. Dumka, now in Jharkhand, was then a part of unified Bihar and Yadav was the Chief-Minister. This Dumka treasury case is part of the larger fodder scam which involved illegal withdrawals of Rs. 950 crores.
Lalu Prasad Yadav is incarcerated since December 2017 serving seven-year imprisonment under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Most of the imprisonment was served under judicial custody in Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences Ranchi. In January 2021 Yadav was shifted to AIIMS Delhi as his medical team pointed to a decreased kidney functioning at just 25% capacity.
Yadav has obtained bail earlier in three other cases related to Fodder Scam. The fourth bail is significant because it will help in his temporary release from jail.
The bail comes with strict conditions like a ban on travelling abroad or changing of address and phone number during the bail period. However, Yadav is likely to remain at AIIMS even if released on account of his deteriorating health conditions and the rising number of covid cases in Ranchi.
Devarshi Mandal, Yadav’s Associate Lawyer, is reported to have stated that he will be approaching the CBI Special Court in Ranchi on Monday (April 19 2021) to obtain a release order.
