Charges include corruption, criminal conspiracy, and cheating ahead of Bihar Assembly elections.
A Delhi court has officially framed charges against Lalu Prasad Yadav, the leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, along with his wife, former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi, and their son Tejashwi Yadav, who currently serves as the Leader of the Opposition in Bihar. This development is linked to an ongoing case involving alleged corruption associated with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). The court’s decision comes as the three defendants have all pleaded not guilty, indicating that the case will now proceed to trial.
The charges against the trio include corruption, criminal conspiracy, and cheating. The timing of these charges is significant, as they precede the Assembly elections in Bihar, scheduled to take place in two phases on November 6 and November 11, with the results to be announced on November 14.
The IRCTC case revolves around purported irregularities tied to a tender awarded to Sujata Hotels, a private entity, for the development and management of two railway hotels located in Ranchi and Puri. This tender was awarded in 2005, during Lalu Prasad Yadav’s tenure as Union Minister for Railways. Allegedly, in exchange for facilitating this tender, Lalu Yadav received a three-acre land parcel valued at Rs 45 crore, which was reportedly acquired through a benami company owned by Rabri Devi.
The term ‘benami’ refers to transactions or contracts that are held in the name of a person other than the individual who has financed them. According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), this land was recorded in official documents as agricultural land, which resulted in significant losses to the state treasury, as agricultural properties are exempt from certain tax obligations.
Following Lalu Yadav’s departure from office in 2009, the CBI alleges that between 2010 and 2014, the shares of the benami company were transferred to both Tejashwi Yadav and Rabri Devi. The CBI initiated its investigation into this matter in July 2017 and subsequently filed a chargesheet in April 2018 against Lalu Yadav, Rabri Devi, Tejashwi Yadav, and eleven others involved in the case.
In October 2018, Tejashwi Yadav and Rabri Devi were granted bail, while Lalu Yadav received bail in January 2019. On Monday, Special Judge Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Courts commented on the case, stating that he had determined Lalu Yadav had intervened to influence the hotel development process. The judge remarked on the presence of material modifications within the tender process, suggesting that it appeared distinctively possible that the land parcels were undervalued at the point of sale, ultimately benefiting Lalu Yadav. He characterized the entire procedure as prima facie fraudulent, asserting that the accused cannot be discharged at this stage.
