Delhi high court dismisses Lalu Yadav’s plea seeking stay in land-for-jobs scam case

The CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are investigating former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad, his family, and several others in connection with the land-for-jobs case. During his tenure as the Union railways minister between 2004 and 2009, Yadav is alleged to have granted railway jobs in exchange for land parcels from candidates or their relatives, either as gifts or at significantly reduced prices.

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. Delhi’s Rouse Avenue court is scheduled to commence arguments in CBI’s case on June 2.

In an application filed on May 29, Prasad’s counsel senior advocate Kapil Sibal had urged the court to stay the proceedings until disposal of his plea seeking to quash the criminal case, citing absence of sanction under section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, for initiating the preliminary inquiry. The said section mandates police officers to seek prior approval before conducting an inquiry, investigation or trial into an alleged corruption offence by a public servant, if the offence relates to official recommendations or decisions.