The Delhi High Court today considered a petition filed by former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. He is facing money laundering charges in connection with the alleged land-for-jobs scam.
New Delhi: the Delhi High Court considered a petition filed by former Union Railway Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad Yadav. He is facing money laundering charges in connection with the alleged land-for-jobs scam, which reportedly took place during his tenure as Railway Minister between 2004 and 2009.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal appeared on behalf of Lalu Prasad Yadav and requested the quashing of the FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), arguing that the entire investigation was legally unsustainable.
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Sibal submitted,
“The sanction under section 17A is a mandatory requirement of law to launch any enquiry or investigation against a public servant,”
highlighting that the CBI failed to comply with this legal requirement.
He informed the court that the trial court is scheduled to hear arguments on the framing of charges on June 2, and requested a direction to defer that hearing in the meantime.
He further pointed out that despite an initial closure report, a fresh FIR was registered by the CBI in 2022 for alleged offences dating back to 2004–2009.
He stated that three chargesheets had subsequently been “merged” by the trial court on February 25, 2025.
Sibal argued:
“What will I do if the charge is framed? Please wait for a month. We will argue the matter. For 14 years, you have waited (to register the FIR). This is only mala fide.”
In a supplementary chargesheet filed earlier, Lalu Prasad Yadav, along with his sons Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav, was named as one of the accused.
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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had submitted that Lalu Prasad Yadav misused his position to grant jobs in exchange for land parcels.
During the hearing, Singh explained the basis of the case, stating:
“It is a case where public servants were told by the cronies for the minister to do these selections and land was given in lieu. Therefore, it is called the land-for-jobs case. The minister was misusing his position.”
The court, after going through the documents, remarked:
“There is sufficient material to gather use of proceeds of crime.”
Apart from Lalu Prasad Yadav, the court also summoned his wife Rabri Devi, daughter Hema Yadav, and other individuals allegedly involved in the transactions.
They were directed to appear before the court on March 11, 2025. The court noted that there appeared to be involvement of close associates in these appointments, with land transfers being directly or indirectly linked to job postings in the Railways.
Earlier, in a related proceeding, the court had granted bail to Lalu Prasad Yadav and his sons, stating that they were not arrested during the investigation and allowed bail on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh each.
The ED’s investigation has also pointed to certain companies being used as fronts to obscure the flow of funds. One such company, A K Infosystems Private Ltd, was reportedly linked to Tejashwi Yadav.
During questioning, Tejashwi Yadav stated that while he was a shareholder in the company, it had not conducted any business.
According to the petition:
“Initiation of the fresh investigation in concealment of the previous investigations and its closure reports is nothing but an abuse of the process of law. The petitioner is being made to suffer through an illegal, motivated investigation, in clear violation of his fundamental right to a fair investigation. Both the initiation of the present enquiries and investigations are non est as both have been initiated without a mandatory approval under section l7A of the PC Act.”
He also confirmed investing in a property located at New Friends Colony, New Delhi. The ED suspects that this property was purchased using funds from the alleged scam.
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Lalu Prasad Yadav, however, denied any involvement in the transactions, stating that he had no knowledge of how the land was acquired or of the entities involved.
Despite his denial, the court is continuing to examine the evidence presented by the investigation agencies.
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