The Delhi High Court on Friday issued notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on a plea filed by former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi against the trial court order framing charges against her in the alleged IRCTC scam case.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma passed the order and said that the case will be heard on Monday.After briefly hearing the matter, a single-judge Bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma sought the response of the CBI and listed the petition for further hearing on January 19.
In her plea, Rabri Devi, wife of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad, contended that the trial court, without properly appreciating the material on record, had erroneously framed charges against her merely on presumptions.The development comes days after the Delhi High Court issued notice on a similar plea filed by her son, RJD leader and former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, challenging the trial court's order directing the framing of charges against him and his family members in the same case.
On October 13, Special Judge (PC Act) Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Courts framed charges of corruption, criminal conspiracy and cheating against Lalu Yadav. Tejashwi Yadav and Rabri Devi are charged with criminal conspiracy and cheating.The CBI has alleged that Lalu Yadav and his family accepted prime land and shares as bribes for awarding contracts to a private firm while he was Union Railway Minister.
According to the allegations, during Yadav's tenure as Railway Minister from 2004 to 2009, two IRCTC hotels in Ranchi and Puri were leased to a company named Sujata Hotels through a manipulated tender process. In return, land worth crores was transferred to a company allegedly linked to Lalu’s wife Rabri Devi and son Tejashwi Yadav at a fraction of its market value.
While issuing notice on Tejashwi Yadav's criminal revision petition and his application seeking a stay on the trial court proceedings, Justice Sharma sought the response of the CBI and directed that his plea be heard along with a similar petition filed by Lalu Prasad Yadav.
The alleged scam dates back to the period between 2004 and 2009, when Lalu Prasad was the Railway Minister.During his tenure, two IRCTC hotels were allegedly given on lease without following prescribed norms. One of the hotels was allotted to Sarla Gupta, wife of Prem Gupta, a close associate of the RJD chief and a Rajya Sabha MP at the time. As per the prosecution, the RJD leader got three acres of prime land through a benami company.
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