Fodder scam: RJD supremo Lalu Prasad's plea hearing in Jharkhand High Court today

New Delhi: Jharkhand High Court is all set to hear the bail plea of ​​RJD supremo Lalu Prasad in Ranchi on Friday (February 12). In two separate fodder scam cases for illegal withdrawal from Dumka treasury, a CBI court had sentenced the RJD supremo to seven years imprisonment.

Lalu Prasad petitioned the High Court to grant him bail on the basis of deducting half the period of the sentence in the case. If Lalu Prasad gets bail today, he will come out of jail.

Notably, Lalu Prasad is being tried for five fodder scam cases, and he has been convicted in four cases. He has already got bail in three cases, while one case is currently underway in a CBI court. The petition on behalf of Lalu Prasad stated that the RJD chief has completed 42 months, 28 days of custody in jail.

On Thursday, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief's elder son and party MLA Tej Pratap Yadav sent 50,000 postcard letters to President Ram Nath Kovind requesting him to release the former Bihar Chief Minister from jail on humanitarian grounds. Calling the letter `Azadi Patra`, Tej Pratap Yadav said that the campaign will continue until his father is released.

Tej Pratap Yadav said told ANI in Patna, "We are collecting these letters written by followers of Lalu Ji from Bihar and India. This campaign will continue until he is released. I will request President to give time to meet me," adding "I am appealing to all to write the letter and submit it to us and we will send to the President of India." 

Lalu Prasad Yadav was shifted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi from the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi on the advice of the State Medical Board. He reached Ranchi`s Birsa Munda Airport on Saturday evening from where he will be airlifted to Delhi.

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Last month, Dr Umesh Prasad, Lalu`s physician, had said that the RJD chief's kidney was functioning at 25 percent capacity and his situation could take a turn for the worse. Lalu Prasad Yadav, who had been in prison since December 2017, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in 2018 under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and seven years under the Prevention of Corruption Act in connection with the fodder scam case. 

Both the sentences are being served consecutively. The case pertains to the fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 3.5 crores from the Dumka treasury by Animal Husbandry Department officials between 1991 and 1996 when Yadav served as the State`s Chief Minister. 

(With Agency Inputs)