Former Bihar CM Lalu Yadav denied bail in fodder scam by Jharkhand High Court

Lalu Prasad Yadav

Former Chief Minister of Bihar, Lalu Yadav's bail plea in the Dumka Case, linked to the fodder scam, was rejected by the Jharkhand High Court on February 19.

The Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) leader has to serve two more months in the case, to complete half of the tenure of his total sentence, Justice Apresh Kumar Singh said. The High Court has asked him to file another application after two months, reported PTI.

Yadav's defense counsel claimed that the court rejected his plea on grounds of 'not completing half of his sentencing'. The defense had submitted a chart to support the argument that he has completed 42 months in jail which is more than half of the tenure, however, the Court did not consider the two month period of  1997 and 2001, said the defense counsel, as reported by The New Indian Express.

The RJD leader has been in prison since December 2017 and was sentenced to seven years of jail in 2018 under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and seven years under the Prevention of Corruption Act in relation to the fodder scam case.

In the Dumka case of the Bihar fodder scam, Yadav was convicted for withdrawing Rs 3.13 crore from the treasury in the city in Jharkhand, formerly in Bihar. The former minister; however, has got bail in three out of the four cases linked to the scam.

Currently, Yadav is in Delhi's AIIMS for the treatment of a lung infection. He had been getting medical care at a hospital in Jharkhand's capital Ranchi before he was brought to Delhi in January after his health worsened.

His son Tejashwi Yadav has been leading the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and has been credited with the party's strong performance in the Bihar election last year.