NEW DELHI: In a setback to RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to quash the FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the land-for-jobs case involving him and his family.
Justice Ravinder Dudeja dismissed the petition by Yadav, a former railway minister and ex-chief minister of Bihar, that also sought quashing of the three chargesheets filed in 2022, 2023 and 2024 and the subsequent orders of cognisance in the matter.
"The petition, being devoid of merit, is dismissed," the judge said while pronouncing the verdict.
A detailed copy of the verdict is awaited.
The 'land-for-jobs' case is related to Group D appointments made in the West Central Zone of the Indian Railways based in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, during Yadav's tenure as the rail minister between 2004 and 2009 allegedly in return for land parcels gifted or transferred by the recruits in the name of the RJD supremo's family or associates, officials said.
Yadav had contended that the inquiry, FIR as well as the investigation and subsequent chargesheets in the matter were legally unsustainable in the absence of the prior sanction taken by CBI under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The case was registered on May 18, 2022, against Yadav and others, including his wife, two daughters, unidentified public officials and private persons. Yadav,77, and others are currently out on bail.