Fodder Scam: Jharkhand HC defers Lalu Prasad's bail plea to Feb 19

The Jharkhand High Court on Friday deferred to February 19 hearing on the bail plea of former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav in connection with the fodder scam case.

Yadav, who had been in prison since December 2017, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in 2018 under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and seven years under the Prevention of Corruption Act in connection with the fodder scam case.

The case pertains to the fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 3.5 crores from the Dumka treasury by Animal Husbandry Department officials between 1991 and 1996 when Yadav served as the State's Chief Minister.

Meanwhile, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Yadav's elder son and party MLA Tej Pratap Yadav on Thursday sent 50,000 postcard letters to President Ram Nath Kovind requesting him to release the former Bihar Chief Minister from jail on humanitarian grounds.

Lalu Prasad Yadav was shifted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi from the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi on the advice of the State Medical Board.

Dr Umesh Prasad, Lalu's physician had said last month that Yadav's kidney was functioning at 25 percent capacity and his situation could take a turn for the worse.