The Bihar government led by Nitish Kumar has withdrew security cover given to Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav.
Challenging the order of High Court, the couple contended in their petition that the state government was not competent to file an appeal against the trial court's verdict acquitting them in DA case. Since the case was probed by CBI, so either the Centre or the investigating agency was competent to challenge the CBI court verdict, the petition said.
On February 19, the Nitish Kumar government filed a petition in the high court against Lalu and Rabri's acquittal
The Patna High Court on Wednesday reserved its order on the Bihar government's petition challenging the acquittal of Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi in a disproportionate assets case.
The case pertains to allegations that Lalu Prasad, as railway minister, handed over the maintenance of two hotels run by the IRCTC, a subsidiary of the Indian Railways, in Ranchi and Puri to Sujata Hotels, a company owned by Vinay and Vijay Kochhar, in return for a prime plot of three acres in Patna through a benami company.
The RJD MP was the national general secretary and spokesman of the party. He was said to be close to RJD chief and railway minister Lalu Prasad.
It was only after initial tough posturing, that the two brothers of Rabri Devi promised to vacate the premises.
RJD heir apparent Tejashwi Prasad Yadav rode a tractor to lead the protest against the passage of the three farm bills on Friday. His elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav sat atop its hood.
Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and his wife Rabri Devi were acquitted in the disproportionate assets case on Monday.
The State government had appealed against the Central Bureau of Investigation's court verdict after the CBI, which investigated the case, decided not to challenge the acquittal.
He was released on the orders of Chief Minister Rabri Devi, sources said.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday rubbished reports that he was trying to engineer defection in Rashtriya Janata Dal to bolster numbers of his government which at present is surviving on support of Independents and Congress Legislators.
The RJD chief has been asked to appear for questioning at the agency headquarters on September 11.
Rabri Devi dared the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena from stopping her and her husband, Lalu Prasad, from holding the Chhat Puja in Mumbai. She also said that MNS chief Raj Thackeray had hurt Biharis with his anti-Chhat comments.
Lalu was apparently referring to his wife Rabri Devi.
Water Resources Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is in touch with Bihar Chief Ministers Rabri Devi and her Assam counterpart Tarun Gogoi.
Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi were acquitted of all charges in a 7-year-old disproportionate assets case by Special CBI Judge Muni Lal Paswan.
A full Bench comprising Justice R N Prasad, Justice Barin Ghosh and Justice M L Visa unanimously dismissed the petition.
Upbeat at the massive turn-out of people at a rally in Patna on Sunday, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi challenged Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to hold mid-term polls in Bihar.
The RJD and the family were tense about the verdict.
Prasad, who became chief minister of Bihar in 1990, had anointed his wife on the CM chair after he was sent to jail in 1997 over multi-crore fodder scam cases.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Sunday ordered a high-level administrative inquiry into the burning alive of six members of a family in Raghopur block in Vaishali district, which falls in the constituency of leader of the opposition Rabri Devi.
Soon after voting, Lalu said there was an 'undercurrent' in favour of his party and that would obtain absolute majority.
The minister, accompanied by his wife Rabri Devi, met IIM-A director Bakul Dholakia and told reporters that he had come prepared to deliver the lecture.
The EC has asked the state government to shift officials who were debarred from election duty during the Parliamentary poll earlier this year.
This relates to the disproportionate assets case.
Among them is Shivanand Tiwari (Excise) who had accused RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav being responsible for his defeat from the Buxar Lok Sabha seat.
The Central Bureau of Investigation, which had on April 16 filed the chargesheet in the case, had said that there was enough evidence against the accused.
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