New Delhi: The Patna High Court on Thursday held as maintainable the Bihar government's appeal challenging the acquittal of Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi by a CBI court in a disproportionate assets case.
Justice Ramesh Kumar Datta, who had on September 12 reserved his order on the petition filed by the state government, ruled that the appeal was maintainable and posted the matter for September 24 for hearing on the issue of admission.
Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi, former Bihar chief minister, had contested the state government's appeal, saying it was not competent to file an appeal in the DA case and all other fodder scam cases, which were investigated by the CBI, an agency under the Central government.
The bench said the appeal could be entertained under section 378 of the CrPC relating to a case of acquittal.
Special CBI judge Muni Lal Paswan had on December 18 last year acquitted the duo in the case that had charged Lalu Prasad with having amassed assets worth Rs 46 lakh beyond his known sources of income when he was the chief minister between 1990 and 1997. Rabri Devi was made a co-accused in the case.
The state government had gone in appeal against the CBI court verdict after the central agency, which had probed the DA case, decided not to challenge the acquittal.
Arguing against the state government's appeal, senior Supreme Court lawyer and the counsel for Lalu and Rabri Devi Ram Jethmalani had contended that since the case was probed by CBI, the Centre or the agency was competent to challenge the CBI court verdict.
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