Jharkhand HC grants bail to Lalu Prasad Yadav; to remain in jail in connection with Dumka Treasury case

The Jharkhand High Court today granted bail to former Union Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav in the Chaibasa Treasury Scam case, one of the cases related to the fodder scam for which he was convicted.

The scam involved the withdrawal of Rs 33.67 crore from the Chaibasa Treasury during 1992-93, when Yadav was Chief Minister of Bihar.

As per reports, Yadav will remain in jail, since he is yet to get bail in another fodder scam case - the one pertaining to the Dumka Treasury.

In December 2017, Yadav was sentenced to a total imprisonment of seven years after being convicted in the fodder scam for offences under Section 120B read with Section 420, 467, 468, 471, 477(A) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 13(i)(c)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

He was convicted in four different cases pertaining to the fodder scam - 2 related to the Chaibasa Treasury, 1 related to the Deoghar Treasury and another related to the Dumka Treasury. The trial in the Doranda Treasury case is still ongoing.

In the Deoghar Treasury case, the former Chief Minister was found guilty of the the embezzlement of Rs. 89 lakh between 1991 and 1994.

In July 2019, the Jharkhand High Court had granted bail to Yadav in the Deoghar Treasury case, while also suspending the sentence.

In February this year, the Supreme Court issued notice in Central Bureau of Investigation's appeal against the High Court's order granting him bail in this case.