June 20: The verdict in a fodder scam case involving two former chief ministers — Lalu Prasad and Jagannath Mishra — will be delivered on July 15.

A notice in this regard was issued this morning, directing all 44 accused, including two MPs and scores of government officials, to appear personally before the court of special CBI judge P.K. Singh. The accused have also been told to file their written arguments, if they so desire, by July 1, after which the same would not be entertained.

The case, RC 20A/96, one of the 61 cases filed in the Rs 900-crore fodder scam, is related to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 37.70 crore from Chaibasa treasury in 1994-95 when Lalu was the chief minister of unified Bihar. During investigation of the fodder scam, the then CBI joint director described this case as the “Eye of the Tiger”, claiming that there was more than enough evidence for convicting the accused persons. The verdict of this case will have wide political implications, especially for Lalu, who is gearing up to take on the BJP and possible JD(U)-Congress alliance for the next year’s Lok Sabha polls.

The split in the BJP-JD(U) alliance has given hope in the RJD for politically reviving itself in Bihar.

However, an adverse decision will badly hit the RJD as its chief is the sole crowd-puller of the party. Interestingly, the JD(U) will also be hit with Jagdish Sharma, now a JD(U) MP of Jehanabad, and former chief minister Mishra, also a JD(U) member.