Contempt notice to RJD, Cong leaders; sentence to Lalu tomorrow

Ranchi, January 3

A special CBI court here on Wednesday served contempt notices to senior leaders of the RJD and the Congress for criticising the December 23 conviction of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in a fodder scam case on television.

CBI judge Shiv Pal Singh directed senior RJD leaders Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Shivanand Tiwari and Lalu Prasad’s son Tejashwi Yadav and Congress leader Manish Tewari to personally appear before the court on January 23.

Tejashwi Yadav is leader of the opposition in the Bihar Assembly.

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The court which was scheduled to pronounce the quantum of punishment to Lalu Prasad and 15 others on Wednesday is likely to announce it on Thursday, a CBI advocate said.

The case did not come up on Wednesday due to a condolence meeting held during the day to mourn the death of two lawyers, he said.

The RJD chief and the 15 others who were brought to the court in the morning were taken back to jail.

The court had on December 23 convicted Lalu Prasad and 15 others in a fodder scam case, 21 years after it had surfaced. Six others, including another former chief minister, Jagannath Mishra, were acquitted.

The case pertains to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 89.27 lakh from the Deoghar Treasury between 1991 and 1994. PTI