Nearly Two months after a Patna court acquitted Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and his wife in a disproportionate assets case, the Central Bureau of Investigation has approached the law ministry for permission to file an appeal against their acquittal.
The designated court in Patna had acquitted the two on December 18, 2006. The trial for the case had continued for seven years. The case was an offshoot of Bihar's fodder scam.
Flashback
*On December 18, 2006, a CBI court acquitted Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi in a disproportionate assets case
*The case, an offshoot of the fodder scam, accused Lalu of amassing property worth Rs 46 lakh above his known source of income between 1990-97 while he was Bihar chief minister. Rabri Devi was accused of abetting her husband
Under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, it is mandatory for the CBI to seek clearance from the law ministry before going in for an appeal against any judgment.
CBI director Vijay Shanker had said last week that the agency was examining the matter related to appeal in the case.
"The prerogative in such matters vests with the government. After due examination of the matter, we would be approaching the government," Shanker had said last week.
The agency had accused the railway minister of amassing property worth Rs 46 lakh between 1990 and 1997, which was above his known sources of in come, during his tenure as Bihar Chief Minister.
His wife had been charged with abetting him in the alleged crime.
Source- HT, Dated, February-16,2007
