Jharkhand High Court rejects bail plea of fodder scam accused Jagdish Sharma

The Jharkhand High Court has rejected the bail plea of fodder scam accused Jagdish Sharma on grounds that the charges against him are very serious.

Sharma was convicted in the case by a special CBI court on September 30 and was sentenced to four years in prison on October 3.

On November 29, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court fixed December 13 as the date for hearing the bail plea of Lalu Yadav in connection with the fodder scam case.

Seeking a response from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the apex court bench comprising of Chief Justice P. Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan Gogoi directed that it be given by the above mentioned date.

Yadav is being represented by senior advocate and former union minister Ram Jethmalani.

Jethmalani questioned the reasons behind a trial court and the high court rejecting his client's bail plea, when 37 of the 43 other accused have been granted bail.

He also claimed that it will take a long time for the Jharkhand High Court to dispose of Lalu's appeal against conviction.

The RJD chief, former Bihar chief minister Jagannath Mishra and 42 others were convicted on September 30 by a special CBI court for fraudulently withdrawal of Rs 37.7 crore from Chaibasa Treasury when Lalu was chief minister.

The CBI court pronounced prison terms for the convicted persons on October 3.