Click to play videoPatna: Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav won a major legal battle on Monday when he and his wife, former Bihar Chief Minister, Rabri Devi, were acquitted in the disproportionate assets case against them.
Lalu and his wife were present when the CBI Judge Muni Lal Paswan pronounced the verdict in a jam-packed court here, sending their supporters outside into a frenzied jubilation.
The BJP has demanded a re-probe into the case and the CBI has obliged, saying that they will appeal in a higher court against the verdict.
The case dates back to 1997, when the Railway Minister was accused of amassing property worth Rs 46 lakh above his known source of income as Bihar chief minister.
It has always been thought of as an offshoot of the infamous Fodder Scam. Rabri Devi was accused of abetting her husband.
"I have got justice from the court.We respect the verdict," says Lalu.
Adds Lalu's advocate, Chitaranjan Sinha, "This is a huge victory for us because it just shows that the evidence against Lalu Prasad is very weak. He has gone to jail several times but he has always been innocent. This case was an offshoot of the Fodder scam against the minister and this shows that all charges against him are of no substance and are completely baseless."
Congress General Secretary Margaret Alva has expressed the hope that the court will also put to rest, other cases that have been registered against Lalu Prasad.
Lalu's political opponents would be a disappointed lot as they were almost praying for his downfall and Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Sushil Kumar Modi had even said that there was "100 per cent hope of conviction".
Earlier however, Modi had expressed the fear that "Lalu had tried to influence the judicial process".
BJP MP, Ravi Shankar Prasad says the appointment of the judge in the case was controversial.
BJP Leader, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi says, "We can't comment on the court verdict, but all we can say is that the public will always think of him as a corrupt leader."
The verdict is expected to have strong political fallouts in Bihar and elsewhere.
The case had finally reached the judgement stage after six years. The RJD chief was facing a possible sentence of seven years of rigorous imprisonment and a monetary fine.
An FIR was filed against Lalu and Rabri in 1998 and both were chargesheeted by CBI in April 2000. It was during Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's brief tenure in 2000 that sanction for this case was given. In the past six years, 132 witnesses have been cross examined.
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