Ranchi, January 6: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Chief and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav has been sentenced to 3.5 years in Fodder Scam by the special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court. In addition to this, Lalu has also been slapped with a fine of Rs 5 lakh.  As per reports, Lalu heard the sentencing from jail via video conferencing. Moreover, the RDJ Supremo's son Tejashwi Yadav said that they will approach the high court and also apply for bail after studying the sentence.

To recall, Lalu was convicted on December 23 last year along with 15 others in the scam.  The special court, was scheduled to announce the quantum of sentence on Wednesday but postponed it due to the passing away of advocate Vindeshwari Prasad. A CBI advocate was quoted by PTI saying, "The case did not come up today due to a condolence meeting held during the day to mourn the death of two lawyers”.

On Wednesday, a special CBI court served contempt notices to senior leaders of the RJD and the Congress for criticising the December 23 conviction of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in a fodder scam case on television. Reports state that CBI judge Shiv Pal Singh directed senior RJD leaders Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Shivanand Tiwari and Lalu Prasad’s son Tejashwi Yadav and Congress leader Manish Tewari to personally appear before the court on January 23. Tejashwi Yadav is leader of opposition in the Bihar Assembly.

In 2017, the RJD chief received a major jolt as the Supreme Court ruled that Lalu Yadav will have to stand trial in all the fodder scam cases.  The case pertains to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs. 89.27 lakh from the Deoghar Treasury between 1991 and 1994.  The court had acquitted another former chief minister of Bihar Jagganath Mishra who was also one of the accused in the case which involved the fradulent withdrawal of Rs 84.5 lakhs from the Deoghar treasury.  CBI judge Shiv Pal Singh directed senior RJD leaders Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Shivanand Tiwari and Lalu Prasad's son Tejashwi Yadav and Congress leader Manish Tewari to personally appear before the court on January 23.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 06, 2018 11:08 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).