Lalu Prasad Yadav (ANI image)
NEW DELHI: The Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi on Tuesday dismissed the pleas filed by former railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and his wife Rabri Devi seeking to halt day-to-day hearings in the IRCTC Hotels corruption case.Special judge Vishal Gogne rejected their request for a one-week gap between hearings, saying the plea was “not maintainable, practicable or justified.” The court is currently recording the prosecution’s evidence after framing charges against Lalu Prasad, Rabri Devi, their son Tejashwi Yadav and other accused persons.In its order, the court also referred to the previous direction issued by the Delhi high court. “Apparently, far from restricting the listing of such matters to only once a week, the High Court in fact directed that the listing be at least once a week. Moreover, a specific direction was rendered for a day-to-day listing of the matter till the examination/cross-examination of witnesses was concluded,” the order stated. Senior counsel DP Singh, appearing for the prosecution, opposed the plea and argued that conducting the trial on a day-to-day basis was the mandate of law. He said that as the designated court for cases involving MPs and MLAs, the Rouse Avenue Court must expedite proceedings as per directions from both the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court’s order of November 9, 2023.The defence counsel, however, requested more time, citing the large volume of documents and the length of the charge order. They said the case involved over 18,000 documents and a charge order running into 250 pages, which required adequate time for study and preparation for cross-examination.Rejecting the request, the court observed that sufficient time had already been granted for cross-examining witnesses.The case relates to alleged corruption in the tender process for two IRCTC hotels in Ranchi and Puri during Lalu Prasad Yadav’s tenure as railway minister from 2004 to 2009.According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the contracts for the BNR Hotels in Ranchi and Puri were awarded to Sujata Hotels, a private company owned by Vijay and Vinay Kochhar, in exchange for three acres of prime land that was allegedly acquired by Lalu Prasad through a benami company.The CBI had filed an FIR on July 7, 2017, followed by raids at 12 locations linked to Lalu and his family in Patna, New Delhi, Ranchi and Gurgaon. A charge sheet was later filed in April 2018.The agency has charged the accused under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and under Sections 13(2) and 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.The Rouse Avenue Court had earlier, on October 13, framed charges and directed that the case be heard on a day-to-day basis to record prosecution evidence.
