Lalu's bail plea hearing in Dumka treasury case deferred to Feb 12

The hearing in the bail petition ofjailed RJD president Lalu Prasad in Dumka treasury case of thefodder scam was deferred to February 12 by the Jharkhand HighCourt on Friday.

As soon as the matter came up for hearing, Justice ApareshKumar Singh said since the documents submitted on behalf ofPrasad did not reach him on time, so the matter will be heardlater.

The court had earlier fixed February 5 for the nexthearing, but later rescheduled it for February 12.

Prasad's lawyer Devarshi Mandal said that since an anotherimportant matter has been fixed for hearing on February 5after a mention of it in the court, the bench gave February 12as the new date for taking up RJD leader's bail application.

The court said if the CBI has anything to say on theissue, it can do so during this period.

CBI counsel Rajiv Sinha said he was ready for argumenton the matter, but Prasad's lawyer Kapil Sibal said since allthe relevant papers are not with the court at the momemt therewas no point holding argument, following which the courtposted the matter for a future date.

The Dumka treasury embezzlement case is an offshoot of themulti-crore rupees fodder scam.

The former Bihar chief minister has already acquired bailin three cases of over Rs 900 crore fodder scam and wasexpecting a favourable decision in the Dumka treasury case forrelease from jail.

Now he has to wait for two more weeks to know verdict ofthe court on his bail plea.

On January 25, a report was submitted to the High Court onbehalf of Prasad giving details that he has already completedmore than half of the jail term awarded by a CBI court in thecase and made a request for early hearing in the Dumkatreasury matter.

The court accepted the plea and fixed January 29 forhearing.

The septuagenarian leader was air-lifted to Delhi AIIMSlast week following reports of deterioration in his health.

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