Following the Supreme Court's decision to revive the criminal conspiracy charges against former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav in the fodder scam case, his counsel Ram Jethmalani on Monday expressed confidence, saying they would win the case on both, merits as well as limitations.
"In this case, even an adverse decision only means that the appeal will be heard, not that it has been allowed. Let it be heard. We will win on both, merits as well as limitations," Jethmalani told ANI.
Hitting out at the opposition for celebrating the apex court's decision, Jethmalani said he does not pay any respect to 'stupid' politicians nor does he wish to react to them.
"I don't know how did the other side come to know that the judgement is going against Lalu so they organized 'tamasha'... organized by stupid politicians. I don't pay any respect to them nor do I wish to react to them. If they are happy, let them remain happy," he said.
"Let me read the judgement. If the judgement is so good that I find my arguments are wholly dealt with and properly overruled, I may not do anything more. It is not a great loss. The judges have only decided to hear the main plea instead of dismissing it on limitation," he added.
In a major setback to Lalu, the apex court today revived the criminal conspiracy charges against the former Bihar chief minister and others in the fodder scam case.
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The two-judge bench also ruled that the trail has to be completed within nine months.
The apex court allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)'s plea challenging the Jharkhand High Court's order of dropping charges against Lalu in the case.
In 2014, the Jharkhand High Court had given relief to the RJD supremo and others by dropping charges of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and prevention of corruption in the fodder scam.
Around 53 cases were registered for embezzlement of funds on the pretext of buying fodder for cattle.
The High Court had earlier quashed the cases on grounds that a person convicted in one case could not be tried in similar cases based on same witnesses and evidences.
However, the CBI had contended that though the cases have arisen from the fodder scam, they are different in nature as different amounts were involved from different treasuries.
The apex court earlier on April 20 reserved its judgment in the case and asked all parties concerned to give their submissions within a week.
The court also heard the plea filed by RJD supremo challenging his jail sentence in connection the case.
The fodder scam relates to fraudulent withdrawal of around Rs. 1,000 crore by the Animal Husbandry department from various districts when Lalu was the Bihar chief minister from 1990 to 1997.