Land-for-jobs case: Delhi HC notice on Lalu Yadav, Rabri Devi plea over ‘unrelied’ documents

Unrelied documents are materials seized by investigating agencies but not relied on in the prosecution complaint

The Delhi high court on Monday issued notice in a petition filed by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi, challenging a trial court order that denied their request for access to “unrelied documents” in the land-for-jobs case.

The bench fixed April 1 as the next date of hearing. (HT file photo)

A bench of justice Manoj Jain, asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file its response in the petition challenging the trial court’s March 18 order and fixed April 1 as the next date of hearing.

The trial court on March 18, had rejected their request observing that the “self-serving” prayer was a “ruse” to delay the trial. The court in its 35-page order had said the accused hadn’t persuaded the court that there were any special circumstances to permit production of any document prior to the stage of defence evidence.

“Unrelied documents” refer to documents that are seized by police during the investigation, but not relied upon before the commencement of the trial, usually because they do not further the prosecution case.

Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi’s petition before the high court painted a picture that several Supreme Court judgments require the prosecution to provide all unrelied documents to the defence at the trial stage. The petition argued by senior advocate Maninder Singh added that such documents were essential for effective cross-examination of the next two prosecution witnesses, both of whom are approvers.

The CBI was represented by additional solicitor general DP Singh.

The case was lodged by the CBI in May 18, 2022, against Prasad and his kin, alleging that Prasad, during his tenure as the Union railway minister between 2004 and 2009, distributed Group D jobs in different zones of railway in lieu of land parcels allegedly transferred by the candidates in the name of his family members and other close associates.

In its chargesheet filed before a Delhi court in 2023, the agency had named 78 accused persons, including 30 government officials associated with the Railway Ministry. Based on the CBI’s case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) subsequently filed a money laundering case and submitted a chargesheet in 2024, naming Yadav and his family members among other accused, of acquiring illicit wealth through their alleged corrupt activities.

The trial court on January 9 had framed corruption charges and criminal conspiracy charges against former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, sons and daughter, in the alleged land-for-jobs scam, noting that Yadav used the railway ministry as his “personal fiefdom” to carry out a criminal enterprise when he was the Union minister.

Special Judge Vishal Gogne of Rouse Avenue Court in his January 9 ruling added that the chargesheet revealed an overarching conspiracy wherein public employment was used by Yadav as a bargaining chip to acquire lands favourably in the name of his family members, including sons Tejashwi and Tej Pratap Yadav, wife Rabri Devi and daughter Misa Bharti.

On February 16, the court framed the charges formally.