Tejashwi Yadav, other RJD leaders found guilty of contempt of court

As the hearing for the sentencing of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad and 14 others began on Wednesday, the special CBI court issued a contempt of court notice to some senior RJD leaders, including Tejashwi Yadav.

The court found senior RJD leaders Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Manoj Jha and former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav guilty of contempt of court.

The CBI court also summoned them to appear before it on January 23.

Reacting to the decision of the court, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, who was present in the court premises, told mediapersons that he was yet to get any information about the same, adding that he would respond through legal means if he got the notice.

Meanwhile, RJD’s Manoj Jha termed the decision of the court as “shocking”, claiming that he never said anything about the verdict of the court.

"It is shocking because none of us uttered a single word against the judicial process or the judgement," Jha said.

Reports said that senior Congress leader Manish Tewari was also found guilty of contempt of court by the court.

The leaders were served the notice by the CBI court reportedly for their comments against the decision to convict Lalu Prasad in the fodder scam case.

Meanwhile, the special CBI court deferred the sentencing of Lalu and

14 others till Thursday, reportedly because of the death of a lawyer.

The RJD chief and 14 others were convicted in the fodder scam case by the special CBI court on December 23, following which Lalu was taken into custody and sent to Birsa Munda central jail in the Jharkhand capital.

While Lalu was convicted in the scam by the court, former Bihar chief minister Jagannath Mishra as well as six others were acquitted.

Reacting to his conviction, the RJD chief had said that Lalu was not alone in the “dharma yudh” and that entire Bihar stood with him.