The Supreme Court today agreed to hear the bail plea of RJD chief Lalu Prasad, who is undergoing a five-year jail term after being convicted in a fodder scam case, and has sought response from the Central Bureau of Investigation.
A Bench of Chief Justice P. Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan Gogoi directed CBI, which is the prosecuting agency in the fodder scam case, to file its response within two weeks and posted the case for hearing to December 13.
Senior advocate Ram Jethmalani, appearing for Lalu, submitted that the RJD chief was one among the 44 accused convicted in the case, but he is the only person whose bail plea was rejected by the trial court and the High Court.
He contended that so far 37 convicts have been granted bail in the case and no one’s bail plea has been rejected.
He also submitted that it will take a long time for the Jharkhand High Court to dispose of his appeal against conviction.