Land-for-jobs ‘scam’: Delhi HC reserves verdict in Lalu’s petition to quash CBI case

Yadav had challenged the proceedings on the ground that there was no sanction to initiate a preliminary inquiry, a plea opposed by the agency.

The Delhi high court on Monday reserved its order on a petition filed by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad seeking quashing of a case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the alleged land-for-jobs scam.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad with son Tej Pratap Yadav (to his left) in Patna on January 14. (Santosh Kumar/ HT Photo)

Yadav had challenged the proceedings on the ground that there was no sanction to initiate a preliminary inquiry, a plea opposed by the agency.

Earlier, CBI’s lawyer additional solicitor general SV Raju opposed Yadav’s petition before a bench of justice Ravinder Dudeja, arguing that it was not important for the agency to seek prior sanction under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act since the actions in question were not performed by Yadav in discharge of official duties.

The said section mandates police officers to seek prior approval before conducting an inquiry, investigation or trial into an alleged corruption offense by a public servant, if the offense relates to official recommendations or decisions.

To be sure, the Supreme Court on January 13 had delivered a split verdict on the constitutionality of the said section. While justice BV Nagarathna struck it down as unconstitutional, justice KV Vishwanathan upheld it, subject to safeguards.

The law officer had also urged the court to dismiss the petition, asserting that it was not maintainable as the RJD chief had approached the HC directly without first challenging the matter before the sessions court, and that it must be rejected due to delay in filing. He added that the 2023 city court’s order, taking cognisance of the chargesheet filed against him, was not bad, even in the absence of sanction as the court had taken cognisance after applying its mind.

The court reserved the verdict days after the trial court earlier this month framed charges corruption charges and criminal conspiracy charges against the former Bihar chief minister, his wife Rabri Devi, and their children, 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.

In its order passed on January 9, the trial court had concluded 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.

The RJD chief, had moved the high court in May last year contending through his lawyers Kapil Sibal and Maninder Singh that even though the CBI had conducted an investigation from 2009 to 2014, and had filed its closure report before the competent court, the initiation of the fresh investigation in 2021 and registration of FIR thereafter in 2022, was in concealment of the previous investigations and closure report that was an abuse of the process of law.

In his petition, Yadav also asserted that the city court’s 2023 order taking cognisance of the chargesheet filed against him was “bad” since it had failed to ignore the illegality committed by the CBI during the investigation.

The land-for-jobs ‘scam’ pertains to Group-D appointments made in the West Central Zone of the railways based in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, during Lalu Prasad’s tenure as the Union railway minister from 2004 to 2009, in return for land parcels gifted or transferred by the recruits in the name of the RJD supremo’s family or associates, according to officials.

The CBI on May 18, 2022, had registered a case against the former railway minister and 15 others, including his wife, two daughters, unidentified public servants and private persons. They were granted bail in the CBI case, saying they should not be arrested before the charge sheet was filed.