Fodder scam: SC to pass order on Lalu's plea to change judge

The Supreme Court will today deliver its verdict on RJD chief Lalu Yadav's plea seeking transfer of the trial court judge hearing the case against him in the fodder scam in Jharkhand.

The Supreme Court will on Tuesday deliver its verdict on RJD chief Lalu Yadav's plea seeking transfer of the trial court judge hearing the case against him in the fodder scam in Jharkhand.

A bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam, which had on July 9 restrained the trial court from passing the judgement in fodder scam case, will give its order on Lalu's plea.

Lalu Prasad in his petition alleged trial court judge PK Singh is biased against him as he is a relative of PK Shahi, education minister in the government of Nitish Kumar in Bihar, "who is his (Yadav's) biggest political enemy".

Yadav approached the apex court after the Jharkhand high court had on July 1 dismissed his plea to transfer the case to another special CBI court from that of Special CBI Judge PK Singh.

The case pertains to alleged fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 37.7 crore from the Chaibasa Treasury in the 1990s. The FIR was lodged by the Bihar government in February 1996 but the case was transferred to CBI a month later.

CBI had investigated the scam for a year and the chargesheet was filed in 1997. The charges were framed in 2000 following which the Special CBI court commenced trial against Lalu Prasad and 44 other accused.

RJD's plea had faced stiff opposition from JD(U) leader Rajiv Ranjan who submitted it would be a "travesty of justice" if the judge is transferred at the fag end of the trial.

He submitted it would give a wrong impression to the entire country if the judge is transferred and raised a question on the RJD supremo's petition seeking transfer of the judge who has been hearing the case since 2011.