Lalu Yadav 'Playing Badminton' After Bail, CBI Tells SC. Top Court To Hear Agency's Plea On Oct 17

CBI to SC: Lalu Yadav "playing badminton post medical-bail in fodder scam"; relief cancellation sought. Prasad's counsel resists, citing kidney transplant. CBI targets 'Doranda treasury case'.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) informed the Supreme Court on Friday (August 25) that RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav had "taken up badminton after being granted bail due to medical reasons in a fodder scam case," urging the cancellation of the former Bihar chief minister's bail. While Prasad's legal counsel objected to his bail being revoked, citing his recent kidney transplant, the CBI sought to have Prasad's bail in the Doranda treasury case, in which he was sentenced to five years in prison, annulled.

The CBI was represented by Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, who argued that the Jharkhand High Court's decision to grant bail to the RJD leader was legally unsound and erroneous.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Prasad, countered the CBI's plea, emphasising Prasad's recent kidney transplant surgery. "He is playing badminton. He has been granted bail after conviction in the case. I will demonstrate that the high court order is bad in toto. There's a short question of law. The bail has been granted on the erroneous assumption that he has spent more than 3.5 years considering that sentences are concurrent and not consecutive," Sibal said, according to a PTI report. 

Lalu Prasad has been sentenced in five cases relating to the Rs 950 crore fodder scam, which occurred between 1992 and 1995 while he was the chief minister of Bihar and was in charge of the finance and animal husbandry portfolios. Significant withdrawals from various treasuries were made based on forged bills and vouchers for fodder, medicines, and artificial insemination.

The hearing has been rescheduled for October 17 by a bench consisting of Justices AS Bopanna and M M Sundresh.

In his response to the CBI's bail cancellation request, Prasad cited his deteriorating health and argued that his detention would be futile. On April 22, 2022, the Jharkhand High Court granted bail to the 75-year-old politician in connection with the Doranda treasury embezzlement case.

In February 2022, a special CBI court in Ranchi sentenced the former Bihar chief minister to five years in prison and a fine of Rs 60 lakh for his involvement in the fifth fodder scam case, which encompassed the misappropriation of over Rs 139 crore from the Doranda treasury.