Court frames charges against Lalu, Rabri and Tejashwi in IRCTC land-for-hotels scam case

New Delhi: In a major development weeks before the Bihar Assembly elections, a Delhi court on Monday framed charges against former Railways minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife and former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi, and their son Tejashwi Yadav in connection with the alleged IRCTC land-for-hotels scam. The court described Lalu Prasad as the “fountainhead of criminal conspiracy” in the case.

Special Judge Vishal Gogne, in a detailed 244-page order, held that there was sufficient evidence to proceed to trial against the Yadav family and 11 others for criminal conspiracy, cheating, and abuse of official position under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act. The court said that the trial would proceed on a day-to-day basis from October 27.

According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the alleged scam dates back to Lalu Prasad’s tenure as the Railway Minister between 2004 and 2009. The agency has accused him of conspiring with businessmen Vijay and Vinay Kochhar—directors of M/s Sujata Hotel Pvt Ltd, which owned Hotel Chanakya in Patna—to grant them contracts for the sub-leasing of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) hotels at Ranchi and Puri. In return, the Kochhars allegedly transferred prime land in Patna to a company linked to Lalu’s associate Prem Chand Gupta, which was later taken over by Lalu’s family members at a nominal price.

In his order, Judge Gogne said, “Lalu Prasad Yadav is under grave suspicion of having overseen and influenced the fidelity of the tender process in order to favour M/s Sujata Hotel Pvt. Ltd. This influence garnered pecuniary gain in the hands of his family while possibly causing wrongful loss to the public exchequer.” He further observed that “the influencing of the tender process for favouring a private party and to then receive consideration in the form of land parcels (in favour of his family members) is constitutive prima facie of abuse of position as a public servant.”

The court rejected the contention of political motivation raised by the defence. “The allegation of political motivation to this prosecution is a double-edged sword. If one proposition is that Lalu Prasad Yadav and his family have been targeted by the new government at the Centre post-2014, the equally arguable alternate proposition is that he was given a clean chit by the previous dispensation also on account of political motivation,” the order stated.

Lalu Prasad, 77, along with Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav, pleaded “not guilty” and sought to face trial. The case will now move to the evidence stage with the examination of prosecution witnesses scheduled between October 27 and November 7. The CBI has been directed to inform the accused in advance about the witnesses to be summoned.

The court found that the alleged land transfer from the Kochhars to companies associated with Lalu’s family formed part of a “quid pro quo” arrangement. It noted that shares of M/s Delight Marketing Company Pvt. Ltd. (later known as M/s Lara Projects LLP) were sold to Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav by Sarla Gupta, wife of Prem Chand Gupta, at undervalued rates under suspicious circumstances. Many of the shareholders cited as witnesses, the court pointed out, claimed ignorance of these transactions.

The judge concluded, “Since it has emerged as a dominant probability that Lalu Prasad Yadav was the fountainhead of a criminal conspiracy, also involving the Kochhar brothers, P.C. Gupta and Sarla Gupta, the railway officials in question, and his own family members to enable the award of the tender in favour of the Kochhar brothers in return for land at gross undervaluation, he is further liable to be charged with conspiracy.”

The court framed charges under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC against all accused, including M/s LARA Projects LLP, Vijay Kochhar, Vinay Kochhar, Prem Chand Gupta, Sarla Gupta, and several railway officials—Pradeep Kumar Goel, Rakesh Saksena, Bhupendra Kumar Agarwal, Rakesh Kumar Gogia, Vinod Kumar Asthana—and M/s Sujata Hotel Pvt Ltd.

Reacting to the development, senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “Tejashwi Yadav is going to change Bihar with the charge of 420 being framed against him by a competent court,” in a pointed reference to Section 420 of the IPC, which deals with cheating.

RJD Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Kumar Jha countered the allegations, calling the case a “miscarriage of justice” rooted in political rivalry that undermines public faith in institutions.