New Delhi: The Delhi high court, on Monday, refused to immediately stay trial court proceedings against Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and his family members in connection with the alleged irregularities in the leasing of two Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) hotels.
The bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma heard the plea by Lalu’s lawyers, Kapil Sibal and Maninder Singh to stay the proceedings. The next hearing is scheduled for January 12. Day-to-day hearings have been ordered in the case, and two witnesses have been examined within a month, the court was informed.
The order for framing charges against Lalu in the IRCTC hotel case was passed on October 13 by the trial court and the stay petition was filed in January, Justice Sharma noted.
“You should have come earlier,” she observed, while directing the issuance of notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)’s lawyer D P Singh.
“Let them [CBI] file their reply. I am giving you a date. Issue notice,” Justice Sharma told Sibal and Singh, as reported by Hindustan Times.
The trial court, on October 13, had framed charges of corruption, conspiracy, and cheating against Lalu, his wife, and former chief minister Rabri Devi, and their son, Tejashwi Yadav.
The court had described Lalu as the “fountainhead of a criminal conspiracy” who manipulated a railway tender in exchange for land and other favours.
There was prima facie material to show that Lalu “abused his position” as railway minister to influence the tender process, special judge Vishal Gogne had noted before framing charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code for criminal conspiracy and cheating.
The case centres on alleged irregularities in the leasing of two IRCTC hotels in Ranchi and Puri to Vijay and Vinay Kochhar’s Sujata Hotels Pvt Ltd during Lalu’s tenure as railway minister. The CBI alleged that the tender process was rigged to favour the firm in exchange for land and company shares transferred to the Yadav family at throwaway prices.
The CBI chargesheet said the hotels were first transferred from the railways to IRCTC between 2004 and 2014 and leased out to Sujata Hotels for operations and maintenance. It added that the tender was manipulated to ensure Sujata Hotels’ selection, causing a loss to the public exchequer.
The Enforcement Directorate has filed a money laundering case against Lalu, Rabri Devi, their daughter, and Tejashwi Yadav, based on the CBI’s findings.
