Land For Job Case: Delhi Court Frames Charges Against Lalu And Family, Says 'Govt Jobs Used As Bargaining Chip'

Tensions rise for the Lalu Prasad Yadav family as the Delhi High Court on Friday framed charges against Lalu, former Bihar CM Rabri Devi, their sons Tejashwi and Tej Pratap Yadav, and daughter Misa Bharti, among others, in lthe and for job case.

While framing charges, the court said that there was an overarching conspiracy. Special Judge Vishal Gogne said that Yadav and his family acted as a criminal syndicate.

"The court finds on the touchstone of suspicion that there existed an overarching conspiracy by Lalu Prasad Yadav towards using public employment as a bargaining chip for receiving immovable properties for his family (daughters, wife, and sons)," Live Law reported.

Making strong observations, the Special Judge said Yadav used the Ministry of Railways as his personal fiefdom to carry out a criminal enterprise, where public employment was used as a bargaining chip to acquire land parcels by the Yadav family.

He did it in connivance with railway officials and his close aides, the judge added. While hearing the case, the judge also rejected the plea for discharge by Lau Yadav and family, calling it "unwarranted," emphasising that they were "operating as a criminal enterprise to usurp land."

"Description of the charge sheet constitutes the essentiality and core of the criminality as described," he said.

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In total, the charges have been framed against 41 persons, and 52 were discharged, including railway officials and substitutes who did not part with their land.

The CBI had earlier submitted a verification report regarding the status of the accused in the case. In the report, the probe agency said that five people out of a total of 103 accused were named in its charge sheet.

The formal hearing on charges will be held on January 23.

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What are the charges against Lalu and family?

In its chargesheet, the CBI has alleged that appointments in the Group-D category of the West Central Zone of the Indian Railways based in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur, made during Lalu Yadav's tenure as the railway minister from 2004 to 2009, were in return for land parcels gifted or transferred by the recruits in the names of the RJD supremo's family members or associates.

(With PTI Inputs)