The Jharkhand High Court has sought a detailed report from the government on shifting Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad from the paying ward to the director bungalow and back to the paying ward.
The Single Bench of Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh has asked the government to explain whose decision it was to shift Lalu Prasad from the paying ward to the director’s bungalow? Then by whose order he was shifted back from the bungalow to the paying ward?
The court has also sought reply on the appointment process of the “sevadar” to be given to Lalu Prasad and asked to explain what is the provision for appointing the “sevadar”(helper) and how he is selected. The court has also directed the government to present the full report in the court by December 18.
In the last hearing, the High Court had asked RIMS to give Lalu Prasad’s medical report and the jail administration to give a list of people whom Lalu Prasad Yadav met in the last three months. The jail administration was asked to tell whether the jail manual has been followed by those who met Lalu Prasad.
The High Court had issued a show-cause notice to the Inspector General of Prisons and the Superintendent of Birsa Munda Central Jail, as the jail administration did not provide timely information. After this, both had unconditionally apologised and filed a list of defaults and their reply.
During the hearing on this matter on Friday, the government has said that SOP has been made for those meeting the prisoners. Under this, security and procedure to meet the prisoners has been fixed. On this, the court also directed to filed detailed information of SOP on December 18.
Lalu Prasad’s bail will be decided on December 11. During the hearing on his bail plea, different claims were made by the CBI and Lalu Prasad regarding the half term of Lalu’s jail sentence. The CBI said that Lalu Prasad had spent only 34 months in jail, while Lalu Prasad claimed that he had served a sentence of 42 months and 28 days.
After separate claims of the two, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Lalu Prasad, pleaded for the postponement of the hearing, proposing to verify the half-term of the sentence in the court. Accepting this request, the court of Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh, after verifying the sentence period, adjourned the hearing on December 11 directing Lalu Prasad to file his reply.
Lalu Prasad has claimed that he has been sentenced to seven years. In this case, Lalu Prasad also spent a few days in Patna jail. So far, he has completed more than 42 months in jail, due to which he should get the benefit of bail, but the CBI continued to oppose it. The CBI claimed that there was an error in the claim being made by Lalu Prasad.
Lalu Prasad has been convicted in four cases of fodder scam. He has been granted bail in three cases. He will get out of jail as soon as he gets bail in the Dumka treasury case.
Read Also: Madhya Pradesh High Court grants bail to man arrested in July 2020 for anti-CAA WhatsApp status