"He Is Playing Badminton": CBI Challenges Bail To Fodder Scam Convict Lalu Yadav In Supreme Court

CBI's petition contesting the bail granted to Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in the fodder scam case was heard before Justice AS Bopanna in Supreme Court on Friday (25 August).

Kapil Sibal, the legal representative for Lalu Yadav, highlighted that the former Bihar Chief Minister had undergone a kidney transplant, and Sibal insinuated that the CBI was aiming to reincarcerate him.

Responding to this, the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, representing Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) pointed out that Lalu Yadav was recently captured playing badminton.

The CBI's lawyer criticized the decision to grant bail to Lalu Yadav, asserting that it was erroneous. He additionally pledged to demonstrate during the trial how the bail decision was flawed.

Meanwhile, RJD ally Janata Dalu (United) or JD(U)'s leader and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has accused the CBI of unnecessarily troubling Lalu Yadav by challenging his bail in Supreme Court.

The hearing concerning the CBI's plea has been postponed to 17 October.

The remarks from the ASG came subsequent to recent sightings of Lalu engaging in a game of badminton. The image had garnered widespread attention, particularly since the RJD leader is in the process of recuperating from a kidney transplant.

Lalu Yadav has faced convictions in multiple instances of the fodder scam, a controversy that transpired during his tenure as Bihar's CM.

Earlier, on 18 August, the Supreme Court consented to include the plea put forth by the CBI to challenge the bail accorded by the Jharkhand High Court to Lalu Prasad Yadav in the fodder scam case.

The CBI had urged the Supreme Court for swift consideration of its plea to annul Lalu Prasad's bail.