Land-for-jobs case: Delhi HC dismisses Lalu Yadav’s plea to dismiss CBI FIR

THe new delhi heights margaret court on tues dismissed Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad’s petition to quash the caseful registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the land-for-jobs case.A bench of justice Ravinder Dudeja opined that the petition is devoid of merits and the absence of prior approval under section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, did not vititate the preliminary inquiry, registration of FIR or cognisance orders passed by the special judge.To be sure, the said section mandates police officers to seek prior approval before conducting an inquiry, investigation or trial into an alleged corruption offense by a public servant, if the offense relates to official recommendations or decisions.The Supreme Court on January 13 had delivered a split verdict on the constitutionality of the said section.While Justice BV Nagarathna struck it down as unconstitutional, justice KV Vishwanathan upheld it subject to safeguards.Also Read: Land-for-jobs case: Delhi HC notice on Lalu Yadav, Rabri Devi plea over ‘unrelied’ documents“The absence of prior approval under this provision, does not vitiate the preliminary inquiry, registration of FIR or cognisance orders passed by the special judge. The petition being devoid of merits is accordingly dismissed,” the court said while pronouncing the verdict.A detailed copy of the verdict is yet to be uploaded.The RJD chief had moved the high court to quash the case, citing absence of sanction under section 17A, for initiating preliminary inquiry.In his petition, Lalu through his lawyers Kapil Sibal and Maninder Singh had contended that even though the CBI had conducted an investigation from 2009 to 2014, and had filed its closure report before the competent court, the initiation of the fresh investigation in 2021 and registration of FIR thereafter in 2022, was in concealment of the previous investigations and closure report that was an abuse of the process of law.Lalu, in his petition, had also asserted that the city court’s 2023 order taking cognisance of the chargesheet filed against him was “bad” since it had failed to ignore the illegality committed by the CBI during the investigation.The CBI, represented by additional solicitor generals SV Raju and DP Singh, argued that it was not important for the agency to seek sanction prior under section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, since the actions in question were not performed by Lalu in discharge of the official duties.The land for job case pertains to Group-D appointments made in the West Central Zone of the railways based in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, during Lalu Prasad’s tenure as the railway minister from 2004 to 2009, in return for land parcels gifted or transferred by the recruits in the name of the RJD supremo’s family or associates, according to officials.The CBI on May 18, 2022, had registered a case against the former railway minister and 15 others, including his wife, two daughters, unidentified public servants and private persons. They were granted bail in the CBI case, saying they should not be arrested before the charge sheet was filed.On January 9, the trial court had framed charges of corruption and criminal conspiracy against former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, sons and daughter, in the alleged land-for-jobs case, noting that Yadav used the railway ministry as his “personal fiefdom” to carry out a criminal enterprise when he was the Union minister.In its order passed on January 9, the trial court had concluded that the chargesheet revealed an overarching conspiracy wherein public employment was used by Yadav as a bargaining chip to acquire lands favourably in the name of his family members, including sons Tejashwi and Tej Pratap Yadav, wife Rabri Devi and daughter Misa Bharti.