Delhi High Court Rejects Lalu Yadav’s Plea to Halt Land-for-Jobs Scam Trial

The Delhi High Court on Saturday dealt a significant blow to RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav by rejecting his plea to stay trial court proceedings in the CBI’s land-for-jobs scam case. The court refused to halt the criminal trial, directing the former Union Railway Minister to present his arguments before the Special Judge.

The High Court’s decision comes as a setback for the veteran politician who has been fighting multiple corruption cases. Justice [Name] observed that Yadav was free to raise all his contentions before the trial court during the consideration of charges, calling it “an added opportunity” for the petitioner.

The High Court declined to interfere with the trial court proceedings, stating there were no compelling reasons to grant a stay. The matter is already listed before the Special Judge for arguments on framing of charges.

“The petitioner is free to raise all his contentions before the trial court at the stage of consideration of charge. This would be rather an added opportunity for the petitioner to put forth his point and get the same adjudicated,” the court noted in its order.

Yadav’s legal team, led by Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, had argued that the CBI continued its investigation without obtaining required sanction against the former minister. Sibal questioned the very basis of the case before the High Court.

“Why should I go to the trial court and argue on charge? Cognisance itself is bad,” Sibal contended, highlighting procedural lapses in the investigation.

The senior advocate pointed out that no FIR was registered between 2004 and 2009, and questioned the CBI’s decision to register an FIR in 2020 after a closure report had already been filed.

The Central Bureau of Investigation maintained that the trial court was the appropriate forum to consider these procedural issues. The agency defended its investigation, explaining the nature of the alleged scam.

“It’s a case where public servants were told by people of the minister to do these selections, land was taken, and that’s why it’s called the land-for-job scam,” the CBI argued before the court.

The legal proceedings gained momentum after President Droupadi Murmu granted sanction on May 9 to prosecute Lalu Prasad Yadav in the money laundering case linked to the land-for-jobs scam.

The sanction was accorded under Section 197(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code (Section 218 of the BNSS, 2023), a critical legal requirement for proceeding against former ministers in corruption cases.

The land-for-jobs scam allegedly involved the practice of giving railway jobs in exchange for land transfers during Lalu Yadav’s tenure as Railway Minister between 2004 and 2009. The CBI probe suggests that candidates were selected for Group D posts in the Railways in exchange for land parcels transferred to Yadav and his family members.

The scam came under intense scrutiny after the CBI filed its investigation report, leading to multiple cases against the RJD chief and his family members.

Yadav, who has served as Bihar’s Chief Minister and Union Railway Minister, has been battling several corruption cases including the fodder scam cases, for which he has already served jail time.