A court yesterday sentenced former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav to 14 years in jail in the fourth fodder scam case.
The special Central Bureau of Investigation sentenced him to seven years each in two cases, and ordering the sentences run consecutively.
CBI judge Shivpal Singh sentenced the Rashtriya Janatya Dal (RJD) chief to seven years imprisonment each under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Corruption Acts.
The judge also levied a fine of Rs3mn each.
“The sentences run in the consecutive way, not concurrently,” the judgment said.
The court on March 19 convicted Yadav in the fourth fodder scam case but acquitted another former chief minister Jagannath Mishra.
Both Yadav and Mishra are facing five cases each in the fodder scam in Ranchi.
Yadav’s lawyer Prabhat Kumar said he would appeal in a higher court against the judgment.
“This is the first time in the history of the fodder scam cases that the court announced that punishments awarded under the IPC and PC Act would run consecutively. In all other 50 fodder scam cases disposed of till date, the sentences given under the two laws run concurrently,” Kumar said.
He said that 14 years of rigorous imprisonment was the highest punishment ever given to any of the nearly 1,500 convicts of fodder scam cases. “We will soon file an appeal against the verdict in the Jharkhand High Court,” he added.
Besides Prasad, the court awarded similar punishment of 14 years and Rs6mn fine to O P Diwakar, the then regional director, animal husbandry department (AHD). It handed down varied jail terms ranging from seven years to three-and-a half years and different fine amounts to the remaining 17 convicts.
There were 31 accused in this case, of which 19 were convicted and 12 acquitted.
Yadav was convicted in the first fodder scam case in 2013 and awarded five years in jail.
He was convicted by a special CBI court in the second case on December 23, 2017, and given three-and-half years’ imprisonment on January 6.
He was convicted in the third case on January 24, related to fraudulent withdrawals from the Chaibasa treasury, and got a five-year jail term.
Meanwhile, Yadav’s son Tejashwi has alleged that there was a threat to his father’s life. “I am sure there is a threat to Laluji’s life, looking at the conspiracy being planned by BJP,” he said.
The multi-million rupee fodder scam surfaced in the 1990s when Yadav was chief minister of undivided Bihar. The probe was handed over to the CBI on the Patna High Court’s order.
The bulk of the cases were transferred to Ranchi after Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar in 2000.
The former railways minister has always denied the allegations.
Yadav has been serving jail term in Ranchi’s Birsa Munda Central Jail since December 23 last year after his conviction in two other fodder scam cases. He was shifted to the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi last week after he complained of chest pain.
Yadav is one of India’s most colourful politicians. His RJD has long been an ally of the Congress Party.
He resigned as chief minister of Bihar after the allegations of corruption arose. His wife Rabri Devi was installed in his place.
The RJD lost power in state elections in 2005.
The Delhi-based election watchdog, the Association for Democratic Reforms, says that there are 1,460 serving lawmakers facing criminal charges.