Breaking news from India’s top court: A CBI challenge to Lalu Prasad Yadav’s suspended conviction in the Deoghar District Treasury scam gets April hearing dates. The agency accuses the RJD leader of flouting justice by remaining free after a clear guilty verdict in the Rs 89 lakh fraud.
Flashback to the crime: In the early 1990s, crooks exploited animal husbandry allocations of Rs 4.7 crore, pocketing Rs 89 lakh via phantom receipts at Deoghar treasury. Lalu Yadav, then Bihar’s powerful CM, was held responsible for delaying probes by sitting on incriminating documents, earning him a 3.5-year term from a CBI court in 2017.
Tuesday’s Supreme Court session before Justices Sundresh and Singh saw sharp exchanges. CBI advocates highlighted the illegality of post-conviction liberty, prompting the bench to clear backlogs—including closing files on dead accused—and schedule full hearings next month.
This isn’t isolated; Yadav’s rap sheet includes convictions in Chaibasa (two counts), Dumka, and Doranda treasury heists, all part of the multi-crore fodder scam web that rocked Bihar politics. Health pleas have kept him out of jail, but CBI insists accountability can’t be evaded.
As the nation watches, this case tests the limits of judicial oversight on political heavyweights. A reversal could signal zero tolerance for graft, reshaping public trust in governance.