India SC rejects bail to Lalu Prasad Yadav

India's Supreme Court today rejected the bail plea of senior opposition politician and Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav in multi-crore Rupee fodder scam cases.

A bench, headed by Chief Justice Rajan Gogoi, said it is not inclined to free Yadav on bail in the cases, our New Delhi correspondent reports.

The bench rejected Yadav's arguments that he has been in jail for 24 months, saying in comparison to the 14-year sentence awarded to him, 24 months was nothing.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Yadav, said there were no recoveries and no demand and the only major offence under which he was convicted was conspiracy.

The bench said merits of the case will be decided by the Patna high court.  "At present, we are only hearing the bail appeal," it said. 

The Central Bureau of Investigation had yesterday vehemently opposed in the apex court Yadav's plea for bail saying the ailing leader suddenly claimed to be "fully fit" to undertake political activities in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

The RJD is fighting the elections in alliance with the Congress party in Bihar state.