The Delhi High Court has reserved its verdict on Lalu Prasad Yadav’s petition seeking to quash the Central Bureau of Investigation case in the alleged land-for-jobs scam. The court heard arguments on the need for prior sanction under anti-corruption law and objections raised by the CBI on maintainability and delay.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday reserved its decision on a petition filed by Lalu Prasad Yadav, president of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), seeking to quash the criminal case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the alleged land-for-jobs scam.
Yadav approached the High Court challenging the proceedings on the ground that the CBI had no valid sanction to even begin a preliminary inquiry against him. He argued that without such approval, the entire investigation and subsequent case were illegal. The CBI strongly opposed this argument.
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During the hearing, the CBI was represented by Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, who appeared before a bench headed by Justice Ravinder Dudeja. The law officer told the court that prior sanction under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act was not required in this case.
According to him, the acts alleged against Yadav were not performed as part of his official duties, and therefore the protection under Section 17A did not apply.
Section 17A requires police officers to take prior approval before starting any inquiry or investigation into corruption allegations against a public servant if the alleged offence is connected to official decisions or recommendations.
The provision has been under legal scrutiny. On January 13, the Supreme Court of India delivered a split verdict on the constitutionality of this section. While Justice BV Nagarathna struck down the provision as unconstitutional, Justice KV Vishwanathan upheld it, but with certain safeguards.
The CBI also urged the High Court to dismiss Yadav’s petition on technical grounds. It argued that the plea was not maintainable because the RJD chief had directly approached the High Court without first challenging the matter before the sessions court.
The agency further contended that the petition suffered from delay and should be rejected on that ground as well.
The law officer added that the trial court’s 2023 order taking cognisance of the chargesheet was legally valid, even without sanction, as the court had applied its mind before proceeding.
The High Court reserved its verdict a few days after the trial court earlier this month framed corruption and criminal conspiracy charges against the former Bihar chief minister, his wife Rabri Devi, and their children in the alleged land-for-jobs scam.
While framing charges, the trial court observed that Yadav had allegedly used the railway ministry as his “personal fiefdom” to run a criminal enterprise during his tenure as Union railway minister.
In its detailed order dated January 9, the trial court held that the chargesheet disclosed a wider conspiracy in which government jobs were allegedly used as a bargaining tool to secure land at favourable terms.
According to the court, these land parcels were transferred in the names of Yadav’s family members, including his sons Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, and his daughter Misa Bharti.
Yadav had moved the Delhi High Court in May last year through senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Maninder Singh. He argued that the CBI had already investigated the matter between 2009 and 2014 and had filed a closure report before the competent court.
According to him, the fresh investigation initiated in 2021 and the registration of a new FIR in 2022 were done by concealing the earlier probe and closure report, amounting to an abuse of the process of law.
In his petition, Yadav further claimed that the trial court’s 2023 order taking cognisance of the chargesheet was “bad” in law because it failed to consider the alleged illegalities committed by the CBI during the investigation.
The land-for-jobs scam relates to Group-D appointments made in the West Central Railway Zone at Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh during Yadav’s tenure as Union railway minister between 2004 and 2009.
According to investigators, several candidates were allegedly appointed in exchange for land parcels that were gifted or transferred in the names of Yadav’s family members or close associates.
The CBI registered the case on May 18, 2022, against the former railway minister and 15 others, including his wife, two daughters, unidentified public servants and private individuals. All the accused were granted bail in the case, with the court directing that they should not be arrested before the filing of the chargesheet.
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