Delhi court frames charges against Lalu Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, Rabri Devi in IRCTC scam case

A Delhi court on Monday framed various criminal charges against Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) President Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, son Tejashwi Yadav and several others in the alleged IRCTC Scam case.

Special Judge (PC Act) Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Courts passed the order.

The court has framed charges of corruption, criminal conspiracy and cheating against Lalu Yadav. Tejashwi Yadav and Rabri Devi are charged with several offences, including conspiracy and cheating.

The case will proceed to trial since all the accused have pled not guilty.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has alleged that former Railway Minister Lalu Yadav and his family accepted prime land and shares as bribe for awarding contracts to a private firm while he headed the Railways.

As per the allegations, during Yadav's tenure as Railway Minister between 2004 to 2009, two IRCTC hotels in Ranchi and Puri were given on lease to a company named Sujata Hotels through a manipulated tender process. In return, land worth crores was transferred to a company allegedly linked to Lalu’s wife Rabri Devi and son Tejashwi Yadav at a fraction of its market value.

The Yadav family has questioned the probe and said that there was no evidence against them. They maintain that the case is politically motivated.

In a detailed order passed today, Judge Gogne said that he had come to a prima facie conclusion that Lalu Yadav was in the complete know of the processes and intervened to influence the transfer of the hotels. 

“There were material modifications in the tender process… It has emerged as a distinct possibility that at the point of sale, the land parcels were undervalued and then came to be vested in the hands of Lalu Yadav,” the Court said. 

It observed that Lalu Yadav’s actions caused great loss to the public exchequer. 

“Various persons engaged in a conspiracy which may have involved multiple smaller conspiracies,” the Court added. 

Further, the Court stressed that the entire process amounted to crony capitalism in the garb of promoting private participation. 

This conspiracy is not entirely hidden; the entire transaction is prima facie fraudulent, and the accused cannot be discharged at this stage, the Court said. 

Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) DP Singh with advocates Manu Mishra, Imaan Khera and Garima Saxena appeared for the CBI.

Senior Advocate Maninder Singh along with advocates Varun Jain, Navin Kumar, Akhilesh Singh, Vanika Gupta, Sumit Singh, Aekta Vats, Sanjana Nair, Satish Kumar and Janvi Narang represented Lalu Yadav and his family.