The Supreme Court on Monday directed Lalu Yadav and two others to stand trial in separate cases pertaining to the two-decade-old fodder scam. The apex court’s direction sounded the death knell for Yadav’s political career, because if convicted, the ban he faces on account of his previous conviction — till 2023 — will be prolonged further.
Dr Jagannath Mishra, former Bihar chief minister, and top Bihar bureaucrat Sajal Chakraborty will also stand trial in the four cases pertaining to general conspiracy and misappropriation of funds lodged against them.
“We set aside the impugned judgments and orders passed by the high court, allowed the appeals and directed the trial court concerned to expedite the trial and to conclude the same as far as possible within a period of nine months from today,” a bench comprising justices Arun Misra and Amitava Roy ruled.
The apex court was hearing a plea filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which was probing the fodder scam, challenging three separate judgments and orders of the Jharkhand High Court, discharging three accused persons, namely Yadav, Chakraborty and Mishra. The HC had discharged the three on the grounds that if a person is convicted in one case, he cannot be tried in similar cases based on same witnesses and evidence.
A total of 64 cases had been registered in relation to the Bihar fodder scam — which involves the misappropriation of funds amounting to Rs 945 crore from Bihar’s animal husbandry department. Of the total number of cases, 52 cases involved the withdrawal of huge sums of money from government treasuries falling within Jharkhand.
This apart, in 36 of 52 cases, a charge sheet had been filed by the CBI before the appointed day. In its judgment, the SC questioned the order passed by the HC and stated that the court should have been consistent in its findings.
The top court further observed that the HC should not have passed different views for different sets of accused in the same case.
The SC also pulled up the CBI for the delay in filing its appeal against the HC order. The top court held the CBI director responsible for the delay and asked him to look into the matter.
