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Author: Editorial
Publication: Free Press Journal
Date: December 20, 2006
The Special CBI Court has cleared the Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and his wife, Rabri Devi, in the disproportionate assets case. Judge Muni Lal Paswan in a one-line order on Monday in Patna said that "the court acquits Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi of all the charges in the case." That is all that the RJD boss was impatiently waiting to hear.
Notably, Paswan had replaced the earlier judge in the case after the change of guard in New Delhi in rather curious circumstances. Paswan's appointment as the special CBI judge to hear the Lalucase, as also the removal of the earlier CBI prosecutors and lawyers, had evoked widespread controversy. The matter was agitated in the highest court in the land, which, however, did not see any reason to reverse his appointment. Judge Paswan duly heard the case against the RJD bosses and on Monday duly acquitted him. The detailed judgement was yet to be made public by the hon'ble court. So there is no knowing the reasoning which underpinned the court's decision to give the Yadavs a clean chit.
However it is reasonable to assume that Judge Paswan found merit in the defence plea that the husband-and-wife duo while engaged full-time in the business of competitive politics had amassed assets worth Rs 46.25 lakhs between 1990 and 1997 beyond their known sources of income through the sale of cow and goat milk. Probably there were genuine receipts of fodder bought for the milch cows and goats produced as evidence by the accused.
Also, they must have satisfied the court about the names and addresses of customers who regularly sourced their milk supplies from the Lalu-Rabri Dairy which presumably was housed in the vast open spaces abutting the Chief Minister's sprawling bungalow in Patna. Mind you, the prosecution case under the Prevention of Corruption Act pertains to the period when Lalu and later his wife Rabri headed the State Government. If for nothing else, you must give full marks to the Yadav couple for their entrepreneurial spirit. After all, not many can claim to earn a legitimate living while devoting their entire time and energies to the business of public service. Admirable indeed is the feat of the Lalu-Rabri duo.
As for the political fall-out, of course, the UPA bosses would heave a sigh of relief that they have been spared more blushes after the dubious feat of Shibu Soren who a few days ago had earned himself a place in history books for being the first Cabinet Minister to be convicted for murder. But a sense of relief might well prove misplaced. Not only because Lalu Yadav is an accused in six other cases of corruption and conspiracy related to the Rs 900-odd crore fodder scam. These cases are in different stages of hearing, with neither the CBI nor the prosecutors in a hurry to clinch them anytime soon. The promise of an appeal by the CBI against Judge Paswan's order is neither here nor there.
The CBI did not keep its word when weak prosecution had led to the acquittal of Satish Sharma, another worthy who is part of the inner sanctums of the ruling Congress Party. But the reason why the UPA bosses ought not to go overboard celebrating `Lalu's victory' is that such acquittals can only make the RJD boss a thorn in their side.
So long as Yadav is weak and restrained, he is manageable; once unfettered by his corrupt and criminal past, he will become a veritable nuisance for the prime minister.
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