The Jharkhand High Court on Friday quashed the contempt notice issued against Congress leader Manish Tiwari and Rahstriya Janata Dal leaders Shivanand Tiwari, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh and Tejaswi Yadav, by special CBI court in Ranchi hearing fodder scam case, RC 64A/96 pertaining to fraudulent withdrawal of ₹84.53 lakh from the Deoghar treasury.
RJD chief Lalu Prasad and others were convicted in the case while former Bihar chief minister Jagannath Mishra was acquitted. Lalu Prasad was awarded 3.5 years jail and imposed a fine of ₹10 lakhs.
The special CBI court of Justice Shiv Pal Singh, who had convicted Lalu Prasad in a fodder scam case on December 23 last year, had issued the contempt of court notice to Manish Tiwari and three other RJD leaders for making “adverse remarks on the judgment”.
While issuing notices to them on January 3 the CBI court said that they have intentionally, by contemptuous and scandalous words, tended to lower down authority with their comments on the judgment of the court. The court asked them to submit their replies by January 23.
Challenging this notice, Mr. Tiwari had earlier contended in the Jharkhand HC that the notice issued to him “fails to specify any scandalous instances, and was therefore issued in a mechanical manner”. The High Court had put a stay on the notice seeking reply from the CBI and the state government.
On Friday, the Jharkhand High Court quashed the contempt notice issued to Manish Tiwari and others as they contended that the CBI judge do not have power to punish for contempt as such power can only be exercised by the High Courts and the Supreme Courts.
