Mr Yadav had moved the top court, expressing fear that he won't get a fair trial as the Ranchi court judge handling the case, Pravas Kumar Singh, is related to a senior minister in the present Bihar government headed by his political rival, Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal (United).
The Supreme Court had, in response, restrained the trial court, headed by Mr Singh, from giving a verdict in the fodder scam case earlier this month.
"A very subtle kind of influence might have come on the judge," the court today observed.
The Rashriya Janata Dal chief had approached the Supreme Court after the Jharkhand High Court had dismissed his appeal for a transfer.
Mr Yadav was named as an accused in five fodder scam cases in 1997, along with nearly 40 others. In this case he is accused of withdrawing Rs. 35 crore illegally from the Chaibasa treasury.
Chaibasa is now in Jharkhand. 54 of the 61 cases related to the scandal were transferred to Jharkhand courts after it was carved out from Bihar and made a separate state in November 2000.
He had quit as chief minister in 1997, when his name figured in the CBI probe in the fodder scam, which, according to the agency, ran into Rs. 900 crore.
The prosecuting agency today sought more time to respond to a notice that had been issued by the top court following Mr Yadav's plea for transfer of the case.
The next hearing has been fixed for August 6.
Bihar has 40 parliamentary seats; a verdict against Mr Yadav could impact his party's performance in the national elections, due by May next year.
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