In a setback to Lalu Prasad Yadav, the Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the RJD leader will stand separate trial in all four fodder scam cases as it set aside the Jharkhand High Court order that had dropped conspiracy charges against him
Lalu Prasad Yadav
In a setback to Lalu Prasad Yadav, the Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the RJD leader will stand separate trial in all four fodder scam cases as it set aside the Jharkhand High Court order that had dropped conspiracy charges against him.
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A bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra and Amitava Roy directed the trial court to complete the proceedings against Lalu (68) and others within nine months.
"We have held that for each offence there will be a separate trial," the bench said.
The fodder scam relates to fraudulent withdrawal of R945 crore by the animal husbandry department from various districts when Lalu was the CM.
Former Bihar CM u00c2u0088Jagannath Mishra and former state Chief Secretary Sajal Chakraborty are also accused in the case.
The apex court, while setting aside the 2014 HC order that had stayed the trial against Lalu 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 CBI for the delay in filing the appeal against the HC order and said the probe agency’s director should have looked into.
9 No. of months the trial has to be completed in