MP court issues permanent arrest warrant against Lalu Yadav in 1990s arms case

Gwalior: A special court in Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh on Friday issued a permanent arrest warrant against former Bihar chief minister Lalu Yadav (75) in a case related to alleged illegal purchase of arms and ammunition in 1995-97.

Mahendra Saini, Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) of the special court set up to try MPs and MLAs, issued the permanent warrant against Lalu Yadav, special public prosecutor Abhishek Mehrotra told PTI.

"The case of 1995-97 relates to arms being purchased from an authorized dealer here by using fake documents. There were 23 accused in the case, which was registered at Inderganj police station, and all have been chargesheeted. Of these, Yadav has been declared an absconder," he said.

As per the prosecution, the permanent arrest warrant was issued as no one appeared in court on behalf of the RJD leader. When contacted, Jabalpur-based MP High Court lawyer Rakesh Pandey said a permanent arrest warrant is issued after the bailable, arrest or non-bailable arrest warrants are served but the person doesn't present himself before the court.

"Under bailable and arrest warrants, the court sets the time for the accused to appear before it after serving orders to them. It is not in the case of a permanent arrest warrant. The accused has to be produced in the court when arrested," Pandey said. Yadav, who was convicted and jailed in the fodder scam in Bihar, was released on bail in April 2021.