india

Updated: Jul 12, 2019 18:18 IST

The Jharkhand high court on Friday granted bail to jailed RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in one of the fodder scam cases on the ground that he had served half of the 3.5 years sentence that had been awarded to him in December 2017.

The RJD chief, however, will not be released from jail as he has also been serving sentences for two other fodder scam cases.

A special CBI court on December 23, 2017, had convicted Lalu Prasad and 15 others in a fodder scam case pertaining to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 90 lakh from the Deoghar treasury during 1991-1994 and awarded him 3.5 years in prison. It had also slapped a fine of Rs 10 lakh on Lalu Prasad.

Since then, the former Bihar chief minister has been languishing at the Birsa Munda Central Jail. He is currently undergoing treatment in custody at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Ranchi.

“The bench of Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh granted bail to Lalu Prasad on the condition that the RJD chief would deposit 50% (Rs 5 lakh) of the fine amount slapped on him by the court below. The bench also asked him to furnish two sureties of Rs 50,000 each,” assistant solicitor general-cum-CBI’s counsel Rajiv Sinha said.

Lalu Prasad, in his bail application, pleaded that he had served a jail term of 25 months out of 42 months (3.5 years) awarded to him. Citing provisions of Section 436 A of the code of criminal procedure, Lalu Prasad argued that the said provision of law entitled him to get bail on completion of half of the sentence.

The RJD chief also highlighted his poor health condition and advancing age as other grounds to secure bail.

Of the five fodder scam cases registered against Lalu Prasad by the CBI in 1996 in Ranchi, four ended in his conviction. He was first convicted and sentenced to 5 years of jail term in September 2013. He was released on bail granted by the Supreme Court the same year.

He is currently facing trial in one case.