Delhi Court Grants Bail To Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rabri Devi And Tejashwi Yadav In Land-For-Jobs Scam Case

Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court has granted bail to RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, and their children Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and Misa Bharti in the alleged land-for-jobs scam case.

The court had summoned Lalu Prasad Yadav's family and fourteen other accused individuals connected to the case after a fresh chargesheet was filed on 3 July.

The bail was granted on a personal bond of Rs 50,000. Yadav family along with other accused persons were present during the hearing in the court in the national capital.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had told the court on 21 September that the necessary sanctions to prosecute three former Railway officials in the land-for-jobs case connected to Lalu Prasad Yadav had been obtained from the relevant authorities.

The case revolves around appointments made in the railways in exchange for land parcels given or sold to Lalu Prasad Yadav's family during his tenure as railway minister from 2004 to 2009.

Before the Special Judge Geetanjali Goel, the CBI informed that necessary sanctions have been obtained from competent authorities against the accused individuals - Maheep Kapur, Manoj Pande, and P L Bankar.

The matter will be further heard on Friday to decide whether to take cognisance of the charge sheet.

The agency has alleged that the maintenance of two hotels operated by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, a subsidiary of the Indian Railways, in Ranchi and Puri, was handed over to Sujata Hotel, a company owned by Vinay and Vijay Kochhar, in exchange for a prime plot of three acres in Patna through a benami company.

Lalu, Rabri, Tejashwi, Kochars, Sarla Gupta, Pradeep Kumar Goel, Rakesh Saksena, and Rakesh Kumar Gogia have been granted exemption from appearing in court on Thursday.

According to the chargesheet filed by the CBI, there were irregular appointments made in the Indian Railways, which violated the recruitment norms and procedures.

A charge sheet has been filed against Lalu, Rabri Devi, and Tejashwi Yadav on 3 July in relation to the alleged scam.

Lalu Yadav has been granted bail in this case, as well as in the fodder scam cases.

The CBI has filed a second charge sheet in this case, with Tejashwi Yadav being named as an accused for the first time.

Along with the three family members, the charge sheet also includes 14 individuals and entities.