Arguments on the quantum of sentence to RJD leader Lalu Prasad and 36 other accused in the fodder scam case were today completed in a special court in Ranchi.CBI has sought maximum prison term of up to seven years for the convicts. Special CBI judge Pravas Kumar Singh is likely topronounce the punishment this afternoon through video conferencing. 65-year-old Prasad and other convicts are currently lodged in the Birsa Munda Central Jail here.In all, 45 fodder accused had been convicted in the case and the judge had delivered the sentence against eight of them on September 30 itself.

The counsel of Yadav, convicted former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra, sitting JD(U) MP Jagdish Sharma, former legislator R K Rana and others sought lesser sentence in the case pertaining to fraudulent withdrawal of 37.7 crore rupees from Chaibasa Treasury when Yadav was heading the RJD government in the early 1990s. Prasad was convicted in the 17-year-old case on corruption and other charges that disqualifies him from Parliament.

Sitting JD(U) MP from Jahanabad Jagadish Sharma also faces disqualification in the wake of a Supreme Court judgement that an MP or MLA would stand disqualified immediately if convicted by a court for crimes with punishment of two years or more and under some other laws even without jail sentence.