Patna: Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav today (Dec 18, 2006) won a major legal battle when he and his wife, former Bihar Chief Minister, Rabri Devi, were acquitted in the disproportionate assets case against them.

Lalu and his wife were present when the CBI Judge Muni Lal Paswan pronounced the verdict in a jam-packed court here, sending their supporters outside into a frenzied jubiliation.

The case in which the Railway Minister was accused of ammassing property worth Rs 46 lakhs above his known source of income between 1990 and 97 as Bihar Chief Minister was an offshoot of the infamous Fodder Scam. Rabri Devi was accused of abetting her husband.