Supreme Court Upholds Lalu Yadav's Bail in Fodder Scam, Orders Fast-Track Appeal

India's Supreme Court, in a bench comprising Justices M M Sundresh and P B Varale, refused to cancel the bail granted to Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in the Deoghar fodder‑scam case. The court declined the Central Bureau of Investigation's plea to overturn the Jharkhand High Court's July 2019 order that suspended Yadav's sentence and released him on bail, directing the high court to expedite the hearing of the pending appeals, preferably within six months.

Yadav, a former chief minister of Bihar, was convicted by a special CBI court for alleged fraudulent withdrawal of roughly Rs 89 lakh from the Deoghar treasury, part of the multi‑crore fodder‑scam investigations. He was sentenced to three‑and‑a‑half years' imprisonment, but the high court had earlier suspended the sentence on the basis that he had completed half of the term. The Supreme Court's decision leaves the bail in place while the appeal process is fast‑tracked.