A Delhi court on Thursday granted interim bail to RJD chief Lalu Prasad till January 19 in two Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) scam cases filed by the CBI and the ED.
Special Judge Arun Bharadwaj granted relief to Prasad after he was produced before the court through video conference from a Ranchi jail, where he is lodged in another case, as he was unable to come due to health reasons.
The court directed both the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file their replies to Prasad’s application seeking regular bail in both the cases.
The cases relate to alleged irregularities in granting operational contract of two IRCTC hotels to a private firm.
The court had earlier granted regular bail to Prasad’s wife Rabri Devi and son Tejashwi Yadav in the CBI case, while they are on interim bail in the ED matter, which was extended till January 19, the next date of hearing.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, Lalu’s elder son Tej Pratap Yadav met him in a hospital in Ranchi.
In normal course, the meeting day at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) is Saturday, so Tej Pratap had to obtain special permission of the hospital authorities to meet his father. Lalu Yadav is being treated in the paying ward of RIMS.
Tej Pratap is understood to have discussed his divorce and political situation in Bihar, among other issues, with his father. He also enquired about Lalu’s health from the doctors.
Tej Pratap had last time met his father in November, after filing a divorce petition to end his marriage with Aishwarya Rai. From there he had gone to Vrindavan.
Lalu Prasad is said to have become tense after knowing about the developments involving his son. His blood pressure and sugar level had both spiked. His condition has improved over the last week.
(With agency inputs)