The Hindu : Front Page : Charges framed against Lalu

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Wednesday, May 18, 2005

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Charges framed against Lalu

D.P. Sharan

CBI court judge overrules Jagannath Mishra's objection; Lalu objects to media trial

RANCHI: A CBI court here on Tuesday framed charges against Railway Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad in another fodder scam case. This is the second fodder scam case in which charges have been framed against him in over a fortnight.

Charges were also framed against 38 others including the former Bihar Chief Minister, Jagannath Mishra, and the former MP, Rajo Singh. A few senior bureaucrats who have been named accused also appeared. As an accused, Ramraj Ram, did not turn up, the court directed that an arrest warrant be issued. The court said charges were framed against the 39 persons under Sections 120-B and 420 of the IPC and 467, 477 and 13(1)-(D) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Dr. Mishra said charges were already framed against him for a similar offence in another fodder scam case. Framing charges now was a violation of Article 20 (2) of the Constitution, which said a person could not be chargesheeted and convicted more than once for the same offence.

However, Special Judge Sanjay Prasad overruled the objection and directed him to raise the issue before the appropriate court. CBI counsel B.M.P. Singh said the charges were framed in connection with the fraudulent withdrawal of Rs. 3.31 crores from the Dumka treasury of undivided Bihar between December 1995 and January 1996. The court would hear the case from June 20 to 23.

Charges were already framed against Mr. Lalu Prasad and others in two of the five fodder scam cases. In the other two, charges were expected to be framed in two months, CBI DIG, B.B. Mishra, told The Hindu .Earlier, Mr. Prasad asked the court to ban media coverage of his appearance in the interest of his political stature. He objected to the "media trial" on the court premises. Mr. Prasad said the telecast of his appearance was an affront to him. However, the court remained tight-lipped.

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