The Delhi high court has issued a notice to the CBI on a petition by RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav challenging a trial court's order framing corruption and criminal conspiracy charges against him and family members in the alleged land-for-jobs scam.
A bench of Justice Manoj Jain sought the CBI's response to Yadav's petition against the trial court orders of January 9 and February 16, fixing March 17 as the next hearing date.
The trial court had framed charges against Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, sons Tejashwi and Tej Pratap Yadav, and daughter Misa Bharti in the scam, noting that Yadav had used the railway ministry as his "personal fiefdom" to orchestrate a criminal enterprise during his tenure as Union railway minister.
The court restrained the CBI from examining the approvers until it decides the petitions by Yadav and Bhola Yadav, a close aide of Yadav.
The CBI registered the case on May 18, 2022, alleging that Yadav allotted group D railway jobs in exchange for land parcels transferred to his family members and associates.
The agency's 2023 chargesheet before a Delhi court named 78 accused, including 30 railway ministry officials, and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a money-laundering case naming Yadav and family members among those who acquired illicit wealth through the alleged corruption.
