Fodder case: CBI court exempts Lalu from physical hearings
Lalu Prasad on Tuesday was present at the special court of Prajesh Kumar, who had on November 16 summoned the former Bihar chief minister to personally appear before the court in connection with the fodder case.
A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Tuesday exempted Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad from personal appearance before it during the next hearing in connection with a case relating to the fodder scam.
Prasad on Tuesday was present at the special court of Prajesh Kumar, who had on November 16 summoned the former Bihar chief minister to personally appear before the court.
Prasad’s counsel Sudhir Sinha pleaded for a reprieve from physical appearances, citing his client’s ailing health. “The special judge granted him the reprieve, saying that his counsel could represent him from the next hearing fixed on November 30. On the next date, the court will examine over 200 witnesses,” said Sinha.
The 73-year-old leader suffers from a number of ailments, including diabetes, cardiac and renal problems. Out on bail, Prasad has been under medical supervision in Delhi while staying with his eldest daughter Misa.
The fodder scam case pertains to excess withdrawals worth ₹47 lakh from the treasury of Banka and Bhagalpur districts. The CBI registered a case in the fodder scam on March 27, 1996. It filed a charge sheet naming 44 accused, including Prasad, former Bihar chief minister Jagannath Mishra, who died two years ago, and former animal husbandry minister Vidya Sagar Nishad, who died last year.
In March 2012, the special CBI court framed charges against 28 accused as 16 others had died during the trial period. At present, only 22 accused are alive. Prasad has been convicted in similar cases pertaining to a number of districts in Jharkhand, which was part of undivided Bihar when he ruled the state in the 1990s.
On Tuesday, the RJD chief was the only one to physically appear before the court while 21 others appeared through their lawyers, Sinha said.
