The Delhi high court on Monday refused to immediately stay trial court proceedings against Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in connection with the alleged irregularities in the leasing of two Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) hotels.
Yadav’s lawyers, Kapil Sibal and Maninder Singh, urged a bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma to stay the proceedings, saying the next hearing was scheduled for January 12. Day-to-day hearings have been ordered in the case, and two witnesses have been examined within a month.
Justice Sharma said that the order for framing charges against Yadav in the IRCTC hotel case was passed on October 13, and the stay petition was filed in January. She issued a notice to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)’s lawyer DP Singh in the plea seeking to quash an October 13 order and scheduled the next hearing for January 14.
“You should have come earlier. Let them [CBI] file their reply. I am giving you a date. Issue notice,” Justice Sharma told Sibal and Singh.
On October 13, the trial court in Delhi framed charges of corruption, conspiracy, and cheating against Yadav, his wife, and former chief minister Rabri Devi, and their son, Tejashwi Yadav. The court described Lalu Prasad Yadav as the “fountainhead of a criminal conspiracy” who manipulated a railway tender in exchange for land and other favours.
{{/usCountry}}On October 13, the trial court in Delhi framed charges of corruption, conspiracy, and cheating against Yadav, his wife, and former chief minister Rabri Devi, and their son, Tejashwi Yadav. The court described Lalu Prasad Yadav as the “fountainhead of a criminal conspiracy” who manipulated a railway tender in exchange for land and other favours.
{{/usCountry}}Special judge Vishal Gogne noted that there was prima facie material to show that Lalu Prasad “abused his position” as railway minister to influence the tender process. The court framed charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code for criminal conspiracy and cheating.
The case centres on alleged irregularities in the leasing of two IRCTC hotels in Ranchi and Puri to Vijay and Vinay Kochhar’s Sujata Hotels Pvt Ltd during Lalu Prasad Yadav’s tenure as railway minister. The CBI alleged that the tender process was rigged to favour the firm in exchange for land and company shares transferred to the Yadav family at throwaway prices.
The CBI charge sheet said the hotels were first transferred from the railways to IRCTC between 2004 and 2014 and leased out to Sujata Hotels for operations and maintenance. It added that the tender was manipulated to ensure Sujata Hotels’ selection, causing a loss to the public exchequer.
The Enforcement Directorate has filed a money laundering case against Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rabri Devi, their daughter, and Tejashwi Yadav, based on the CBI’s findings.