Rabri Devi has approached a Delhi court seeking the transfer of the IRCTC scam case from Judge Vishal Gogne. The court has issued a notice to the CBI, asking the agency to respond by December 6.
A Delhi court on Wednesday requested the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to respond to a petition filed by former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi, who is seeking to transfer a case related to the IRCTC scam from Judge Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Courts to another judge.
Principal District and Sessions Judge Dinesh Bhatt issued a notice to the CBI, instructing the agency to submit its response by December 6.
Devi has approached the court to transfer four cases currently pending before Judge Gogne, in which she and several family members are accused. These cases include the IRCTC scam, the alleged cash-for-jobs matter, and the associated money laundering proceedings.
However, the court issued a notice today only concerning one of the four cases, as the appropriate entities were not included as parties in the plea related to the other three cases. Therefore, the court has directed Devi to file an amended plea regarding those remaining cases.
Earlier, Rabri Devi submitted a plea to the Principal District and Sessions Judge of the Rouse Avenue Courts, requesting the transfer of four cases from the judge who has framed charges against her and her family members in the alleged IRCTC scam.
In her application, Devi is seeking the transfer of these four cases pending before Judge Gogne, which include the IRCTC scam case, the alleged cash-for-jobs case, and related money laundering proceedings.
Earlier, On October 13, Judge Gogne framed criminal charges against Lalu Yadav, Rabri Devi, Tejashwi Yadav, and several others in the IRCTC scandal.
Rabri Devi has claimed that the judge demonstrates bias, alleging that he conducts the trials against her and her family with a “premeditated mind.”
Her plea states that the judge is “unduly inclined” toward the prosecution.
She argues,
“That the conduct of the Ld. Special Judge, on various occasions during the course of proceedings in all the above mentioned cases, appears to be unduly inclined towards the prosecution and bias which can be seen from a number of instances of the case proceedings/orders itself, which has created a reasonable apprehension of bias in the mind of the Applicant and in the interest of just, equity and fair play the cases needs to be transferred to some other court of the competent jurisdiction.”
According to Devi, the judge’s actions undermine the expected neutrality and have established a “reasonable likelihood of bias” in her view.
She emphasizes that her concerns are grounded in specific incidents that have occurred during the proceedings in the cases where she is an accused.
Senior Advocate Maninder Singh represented Devi and informed Judge Gogne that an application has been submitted and will likely be addressed soon.
In the IRCTC case, the CBI claims that Lalu Yadav and his family accepted prime land and shares as bribes for awarding contracts to a private firm while he was the Union Railway Minister. Charges have been framed against the Yadav family in this matter.
Additionally, the cash-for-jobs case alleges that during Lalu Yadav’s tenure, various residents of Bihar were granted jobs after transferring their land to Yadav and his family members.
The ED is pursuing allegations of money laundering against Yadav and his family in connection with these cases.