NEW DELHI: In a mjor setback to the former Bihar chief minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo, Lalu Prasad Yadav, the Supreme Court on Monday in its order refused to quash the CBI FIR in the land-for-jobs case against him.
A two-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justice M M Sundresh and alsp comprising Justice N Kotiswar Singh, however, granted exemption to the 77-year-old former Bihar chief minister from appearance before the trial court during the proceedings in the case.
While refusing to quash the First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the land-for-jobs scam case, the apex court allowed Yadav to raise the issue of the applicability of Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act in the case.
Earlier in July 18 last year, the top court in its order also had refused to stay the trial proceedings against him going on before a special court in Delhi in the case.
The land-for-jobs scam case came out to the fore, during his tenure as railways minister from 2004 to 2009.
On May 29, the Delhi High Court while dismissing Yadav's petition for stay of the trial in the land-for-jobs scam case, had said that there were no compelling reason to stay the proceedings.
While refusing to stay the trial court’s proceedings, the High Court had issued notice to the CBI on Yadav's plea for quashing of the CBI FIR and posted the hearing on August 12.
Yadav had knocked the doors of the Supreme Court -- by filing an appeal -- challenging the Delhi High Court's order of dismissing his plea seeking a stay on the Trial Court proceedings in a case related to the land-for-jobs scam.
On May 29, the Delhi HC said -- while dismissing Yadav's petition for stay of the trial in the land-for-jobs scam case -- that there were no compelling reason to stay the proceedings against the RJD leader.
Earlier, the HC had issued notice to the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) on Yadav's plea for quashing of the CBI FIR and posted the hearing on August 12.
The CBI had registered the case on May 18, 2022, alleging that between 2004 and 2009, Yadav had allegedly exploited his ministerial position to secure land transfers for his family in exchange for Group "D" railway jobs.
Notably, these appointments were made without any public job advertisements. Investigations revealed that senior officials in the West Central Railways (WCR) facilitated these appointments under Yadav’s direction.
According to the CBI, these appointments did not align with the Indian Railways' established standards and guidelines for recruitment.
The CBI also conducted searches across multiple locations, including Delhi and Bihar, to gather evidence.
On June 7, the CBI filed a detailed charge sheet againdt Yadav, his family members, and 77 other persons, including 38 job seekers.
The court had previously expressed concerns over delays in the investigation and mandated the CBI to present its final charge sheet promptly.
In October last year, the court had granted bail to Lalu Prasad Yadav and his sons in a related case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The former CM, seeking stay of the trial, said that the FIR was lodged in 2022 -- almost a 14-year delay -- despite the CBI's initial enquiries and investigations being closed after filing of closure report before the competent court.
Claiming innocence in the case, Yadav, in his appeal, said the initiation of the fresh investigation was nothing but an abuse of the process of law.
"I am being made to suffer through an illegal, motivated investigation, in violation of his fundamental right to a fair investigation," Yadav said.