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Political Notes |
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Lalu Prasad Yadav named in a new fodder scam case
A special CBI court in Ranchi has named Railway Minister and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav as accused in a fodder scam case. The CBI court judge Sanjay Prasad ordered the prosecution to direct the Railway Minister and 13 others who were declared as accused to appear before the court on Nov. 23. The others inŽclude former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra.
The case relates to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs. 1.47 crore from the Dumka Treasury in the 1990s.
Lalu Prasad Yadav is already facing charges in five other cases out of a total of 53 filed in the Rs. 950 crore fodder scam.
In another setback for the RJD chief, the Patna High Court on Sept. 20 held as maintainable the Bihar Government plea chalŽlenging the acquittal of RJD leader and his wife Rabri Devi by a CBI court in a disproportionate assets case, an offshoot of the fodder scam. On December 18 last year, a CBI court had acquitted Lalu Prasad Yadav in the case that charged him amassing assets worth Rs. 46 lakh beyond his known sources of income when he was Chief Minister of Bihar between 1990 and 1997. The state governŽment had appealed against the verdict after the CBI which had probed the case, decided not to challenge the acquittal.
Aligarh Muslim University closed after violence
Aligarh Muslim University in Uttar Pradesh has been closed indefinitely following violence and arson in the campus on Sept. 16 night in protest against the murder of a student. The young victim was killed by unidentified persons with a sharp edged weapon when he was returning to the hostel. A special task force has been constituted by the police to investigate the killing.
Journalists jailed for contempt
The Delhi High Court has sentenced two journalists, a carŽtoonist and a publisher of afternoon tabloid MIDDAY to four months imprisonment each for contempt of court. They were found guilty of publishing unsubstantiated news reports against former Chief Justice of India, V.K. Sabharwal. All the four were then released on bail as per an earlier ruling by the Supreme Court.
The journalists had alleged in news reports on May 19 that Justice Sabharwal in his capacity as the Chief Justice of India had passed orders during the ceiling of commercial property in the capital, that favoured his son, who was close associate of Mall developers.
Several senior journalists spoke out in defence of the MIDDAY scribes sentenced by the High Court. They said that it is a case of judicial over-reach. Eminent counsel and former Law Minister Ram Jethmalani said, the judgement is questionable. He said that he was not commenting on the truth of the allegaŽtions against Sabharwal, except to say that responsible persons had made them.
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