File Photo: RJD Chief Lalu Prasad
The Supreme Court has issued a notice to RJD leader Lalu Prasad regarding a corruption case, asking why the charges against him that have been dropped by the Jharkhand High Court cannot be revived.
The notice came after the Central Bureau of Investigation, which had probed the scam, moved the top court challenging the high court order. The Jharkhand high court had dropped some charges against Mr Prasad in November 2014.
The verdict gave him relief under the relevant section of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act and Article 22 of the Constitution, which that states that a person once convicted or acquitted cannot be tried again for the same offence.
The former chief minister of Bihar had been charged in several cases related to the scam, in which Rs 900 crores were embezzled from the state exchequer for fictitious medicines and fodder for cattle over a period of 20 years. The matter came to light in 1996.
In October 2013, Mr Prasad was convicted in one of the cases- on charges of embezzling Rs 37 crore. But he received bail in December 2013 from the Supreme Court.
The veteran leader - who was banned from contesting elections due to his conviction -- has four weeks to reply to the notice.