The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) appeal challenging the Jharkhand High Court’s order granting bail to RJD chief and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav in the Deoghar treasury fodder scam case, while requesting the High Court to expeditiously hear and decide the pending criminal appeals by Lalu Prashad and CHI within six months.
A Bench of Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice Prasanna B. Varale declined to interfere with the High Court’s order granting bail to Yadav, observing that the criminal appeals against conviction had remained pending since 2018. Dictating the order, the Bench said:
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“We are not inclined to interfere in the impugned order (granting bail). The appeal is of the year 2018. It will only be appropriate to request the High Court to expedite the hearing of the appeal, preferably within six months. Disposed of. The legal issue is kept open.”
The Court also requested the Jharkhand High Court to take up both Lalu Prasad Yadav’s appeal against his conviction and the CBI’s appeal seeking enhancement of sentence and endeavour to decide them expeditiously, preferably within six months.
The case relates to the fraudulent withdrawal of ₹89.27 lakh from the Deoghar Treasury between 1991 and 1994 under the Animal Husbandry Department, one of the cases arising out of the multi-crore fodder scam. A Special CBI Court had convicted Lalu Prasad Yadav in December 2017 and sentenced him to three-and-a-half years’ imprisonment under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
In April 2021, the Jharkhand High Court granted bail to Yadav during the pendency of his criminal appeal. The CBI challenged that order before the Supreme Court, contending that the High Court had erred in enlarging him on bail despite the gravity of the offence.
Refusing to accept the CBI’s challenge, the Supreme Court noted that the substantive criminal appeals had remained pending for several years and found no reason to interfere with the High Court’s order at this stage.
The Bench, however, clarified that the legal issue raised in the appeal has been kept open, while disposing of the CBI’s challenge.