NEW DELHI, 11 May 2005 — Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav scored a minor judicial victory yesterday as the Supreme Court accepted his contention on choosing the bench in Patna High Court to hear his petition challenging the sanction for his prosecution in the disproportionate assets case.
“We totally agree with the contention of (Lalu) Prasad,” the top court bench said.
The court held Lalu’s contention as “right” because it is the prerogative of the chief justice of the high court and not of the Supreme Court to constitute the related bench.
On April 26, the Supreme Court had constituted a bench comprising Justice Aftab Alam and Justice Chandramouli Prasad for hearing Lalu’s petition.
Voicing “apprehensions” over the composition of this bench, last week, Lalu appealed to the Supreme Court bench for a private meeting with the judges so that he could express his doubts “in confidence.”
Regarding this, the application moved by Lalu’s counsel B.B. Singh said: “If the respondent’s (Lalu’s) wishes and apprehension in the matter have any relevance, he is prepared to communicate them in confidence for consideration in chambers and not in the open court.”
The court’s move on constituting the bench comprising Justice Alam and Justice Prasad for disposal of Lalu’s appeal within a month had evoked a strong reaction from the acting chief justice of Patna High Court also.
While voicing his apprehensions on the bench-controversy, Lalu also used the opportunity to express his reservations against Justice Prasad.
CBI Interrogates Mayawati
Two years after registering a disproportionate assets case against former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, the Central Bureau of Investigation yesterday questioned the Bahujan Samaj Party supremo about the properties allegedly acquired by her.
The sleuths of the agency`s anti-corruption unit quizzed Mayawati at her official residence here and asked her about the properties acquired in her name and that of the family members, agency sources said.
The questioning of the BSP supremo comes on a day when CVC was to submit its opinion on the CBI contention that a chargesheet against her could not be filed in the Rs. 1,750 million Taj heritage corridor scam.
