New Delhi, July 14:The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to interfere with the Jharkhand High Court’s order suspending the sentence of RJD president and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav in the Deoghar fodder scam case.

A Bench comprising Justices M.M. Sundresh and P.B. Varale dismissed the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) plea seeking cancellation of Yadav’s bail, noting that nearly seven years had passed since the High Court granted him relief. The court found no reason to disturb the order at this stage.

However, the apex court asked the Jharkhand High Court to expedite the hearing of the pending criminal appeals and, if possible, conclude the proceedings within six months.

“We are not inclined to interfere with the impugned order. The appeal is of the year 2018. It will only be appropriate to request the High Court to expedite the hearing of the appeal, preferably within six months,” the Bench observed.

Representing the CBI, Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju argued that the Jharkhand High Court had wrongly suspended Yadav’s sentence on the assumption that he had completed 50 per cent of his prison term. He further contended that Yadav’s earlier applications for suspension of sentence had already been rejected on merit and alleged that the High Court incorrectly treated multiple sentences as running concurrently while granting relief.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Yadav, opposed the CBI’s arguments, maintaining that the High Court had exercised its judicial discretion consistently and in accordance with established legal principles.

During the proceedings, the Bench sought an update on the status of the criminal appeals pending before the Jharkhand High Court. While the CBI attributed the delay to the accused, the Supreme Court observed that the appeals had remained pending since 2018 and held that the prolonged delay did not justify interference with the suspension of sentence.

The court also directed the High Court to hear Yadav’s appeal against his conviction alongside the CBI’s appeal seeking enhancement of his sentence, which argues that the offences involved serious economic crimes allegedly committed by a public servant holding high office.

The fodder scam pertains to the fraudulent withdrawal of nearly ₹950 crore from the undivided Bihar treasury between 1992 and 1995, during the period when Lalu Prasad Yadav served as Chief Minister and was in charge of the Animal Husbandry Department. He was convicted in separate cases linked to illegal withdrawals from the Deoghar, Dumka and Chaibasa treasuries, which are now located in Jharkhand.