The Delhi High Court sought the Central Bureau of Investigation response on Rabri Devi plea challenging a trial court’s refusal to provide documents the prosecution did not rely upon in the land-for-jobs case, saying such records were vital for her defence preparation.
The Delhi High Court asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to respond to a petition filed by former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi challenging a trial court’s refusal to hand over documents that the prosecution did not rely on in the land-for-jobs case.
Justice Manoj Jain issued notice to the CBI and scheduled the next hearing for April 1.
Rabri Devi contended that access to unrelied documents is essential for effectively cross-examining key prosecution witnesses, including approvers.
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Earlier, On March 18, the trial court dismissed applications by Rabri Devi and Lalu Prasad Yadav seeking those records, explaining that there is no automatic entitlement to obtain documents the prosecution did not rely on in its chargesheet.
The trial court noted that the criminal trial process requires the prosecution to first present its evidence based on relied documents, and that unrelied materials cannot be demanded as a precondition for cross-examination.
The matter stems from CBI allegations that while serving as Union Railway Minister from 2004 to 2009, Lalu Prasad Yadav arranged appointments to Group D posts in the Railways in return for land transferred to his family at nominal prices.
The agency alleges that several job applicants or their relatives sold or gifted land in Patna and elsewhere to members of Yadav’s family and related entities, bypassing any public recruitment process, as part of a quid pro quo scheme.
The Yadav family has rejected the accusations, calling them politically motivated.
Senior Advocate Maninder Singh represented Rabri Devi.
CBI was represented by Additional Solicitor General (ASG) DP Singh.
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Earlier, Special Judge Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Court held on January 9 that Lalu Prasad Yadav, during his tenure as Union minister, treated the railway ministry as his “personal fiefdom” to run a criminal enterprise.
The court framed charges of corruption and criminal conspiracy against the former Bihar chief minister, his wife Rabri Devi, their sons and daughter in the alleged land-for-jobs scandal, finding that the chargesheet disclosed a broad conspiracy in which public employment was leveraged as a bargaining tool to secure land on favorable terms for family members, including sons Tejashwi and Tej Pratap Yadav, wife Rabri Devi and daughter Misa Bharti.
The court formally framed the charges on February 16.