The Delhi High Court on Monday sought a response from the Central Bureau of Investigation on a plea filed by Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav against a trial court order framing criminal charges against him and his family members in a case of alleged corruption in the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, Bar and Bench reported.
Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi and their son Tejashwi Yadav, were charged with corruption, criminal conspiracy and cheating in October.
The case proceeded to trial after the three pleaded not guilty.
Lalu Prasad Yadav approached the Delhi High Court seeking a stay on the trial court’s proceedings, Bar and Bench reported.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma of the High Court said she would consider the plea and scheduled the next hearing on January 14.
The judge did not stay the trial saying that it cannot be ordered without hearing the Central Bureau of Investigation’s position in the matter, PTI reported.
The IRCTC case pertains to alleged irregularities in a tender awarded to a private company called Sujata Hotels to develop and operate two railway hotels in Ranchi and Puri in 2005, when Lalu Prasad Yadav was the Union railways minister.
In return, Lalu Prasad Yadav allegedly received a three-acre plot worth Rs 45 crore through a benami company owned by his wife Rabri Devi.
The term benami refers to a transaction or contract held or carried out in the name of someone other than the person who has financed it.
According to the Central Bureau of Investigation, the plot was shown in official records as agricultural land, which caused losses to the state exchequer, as such property is exempt from certain taxes.
After Lalu Prasad Yadav demitted office in 2009, the shares of the benami company were transferred to Tejashwi Yadav and Rabri Devi between 2010 and 2014, the agency alleged.
The CBI launched an investigation into the matter in July 2017 and had filed a chargesheet against Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife and son, and 11 others in April 2018.
While Tejashwi Yadav and his mother Rabri Devi were granted bail in the case in October 2018, Lalu Yadav was granted bail in January 2019.
In October, Special Judge (Prevention of Corruption Act) Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Courts while framing charges in the case said he had concluded that Lalu Prasad Yadav had intervened to influence the development of the hotels.
The trial court held that the transactions in the case were “possibly an instance of crony capitalism fostered in the garb of eliciting private participation in the Railways’ hotels at Ranchi and Puri,” Live Law reported.
You’ve read Scroll.
Now help sustain it
Scroll is funded by readers, not corporate owners. If you believe our work matters, support our newsroom. Become a member today!
We’re not driven by clicks or corporate interests – just honest, independent reporting. Keep us going. Support Scroll today!