New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its order on Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad's plea seeking transfer of the trial court judge hearing the fodder scam case against him in Jharkhand. The Supreme Court heard the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) reply on Lalu Prasad petition and then reserved it order.
Lalu had filed a petition seeking transfer of fodder scam case to another judge. The case relates to the alleged fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 37.7 crore from the Chaibasa Treasury in the 1990s during Lalu Prasad's regime.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had on July 23 made it clear that they were inclined to transfer the case to another judge. The apex court had observed that a very subtle kind of influence might have come over the judge.
The court had also observed that either the High Court appoint another judge or the Supreme Court will appoint a judge in the case.
The apex court had on July 9 stayed the judgement in the case which was to be delivered by the Ranchi CBI court on July 15.
RJD chief Lalu, accused in the scam, had alleged that the judge in the case was impartial as he was a relative of the Janata Dal United leader and state Education Minister PK Sahi. There were allegations that the judge was also related to the complainant Rajiv Rangh Lalan in the case.
The special CBI court had been hearing arguments for the last one month and had on June 20 directed the accused, including Prasad, to complete arguments by July 1 and had fixed July 15 to deliver the verdict.
Besides Prasad, former Bihar chief minister Jagannath Mishra, senior government officials, including IAS officers, and fodder suppliers were to appear before the court on the date.
As of May 31 this year, verdicts were delivered in 44 of the 53 cases in the Rs 950 crore fodder scam, which was unearthed during the undivided Bihar regime.
(With additional inputs from PTI)
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