Jharkhand HC rejects Lalu's bail plea

The Jharkhand High Court on Friday rejected the bail application of RJD chief Lalu Prasad who is serving jail sentence in Ranchi in  a fodder  scam.

Lalu on January 6 was sentenced to three and a half years of imprisonment in one of the six fodder scam cases - RC 64A/96 - after he was convicted for fraudulent withdrawal of around Rs 90 lakh from the Deogarh treasury.

Moving the bail plea before Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh, Lalu's lawyer cited the RJD chief's poor health condition to buttress his point. The lawyer also placed on record Lalu's medical report, which showed that  he had undergone valve replacement surgery in a Mumbai hospital.

However, the plea failed to cut ice as the judge reportedly asked the incarcerated leader to "at least serve half of the jail sentence and then move the court for the bail plea."

"Since the fodder scam took place in his full knowledge, the court is not willing to release him on bail," the HC judge observed.

Lalu now has the option of moving the Supreme Court for securing bail.

Lalu has already been convicted and jailed in three fodder scam cases, while he is facing trial in two other cases in Jharkhand. Apart from the five cases in the neighbouring  state, Lalu is facing the sixth fodder scam case in Bihar which is related to fraudulent withdrawal from Bhagalpur treasury in the mid-90s.