On Tuesday, the Supreme Court adjourned an appeal brought by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) challenging the bail of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav in a fodder scam case, with the new hearing scheduled for January next year

A bench of Justices AS Bopanna and MM Sundresh was hearing a batch of pleas against the orders granting bail to the former legislator.

During the previous hearing, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Yadav, contended that due to his advanced age and the time he had already spent in jail, it was unjust to require the septuagenarian to return to incarceration.

On the contrary, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju objected, stating, 'He is seen actively participating in badminton!

He stated, "These orders are fundamentally flawed. There's a critical legal issue here: bail was granted based on an erroneous assumption that the sentences would run concurrently, not consecutively."

However, before the hearing adjourned, Sibal reiterated his objections to the CBI's appeals, highlighting a significant delay of 14 or 15 months in their filing. The senior counsel also emphasized that the former chief minister had already been released.

He added:

"CBI came up in Lalu's case and realised that they were appealing only in his, they said we'll file an appeal in every other case. So that discrimination is...And after 14 or so months. They want to keep him inside so that in 2024 he can't be out...Please keep the question of law open."

The Court agrees with Sibal's suggestion to keep the question of law open, pointing out the delay of four years in one of the cases. 

The leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal had secured bail from the Jharkhand High Court in a minimum of four instances, and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has contested all of these court decisions. He had been found guilty in these cases, and his requests for legal review are still awaiting consideration in different judicial forums.

The 950-crore fodder scandal encompassed the misappropriation of funds designated for animal fodder from numerous government treasuries in the former Bihar. Allegedly, the Animal Husbandry Department fabricated invoices to enable this fraudulent activity.