New Delhi: A special court in Delhi on Tuesday formally framed charges against RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and multiple members of his family in the long-running land-for-jobs case, paving the way for a full criminal trial under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The court, presided over by Special Judge Vishal Gogne, held that the allegations — involving corruption, criminal conspiracy, and fraudulent land acquisitions tied to railway appointments — were serious enough to proceed to trial. The judge noted that the accused were allegedly functioning as part of a coordinated network, where Indian Railways employment was used to secure immovable property at undervalued rates.
Lalu Yadav served as Union Railway Minister between 2004 and 2009 during the UPA government’s tenure, the period under which the case originates. The court observed that the CBI chargesheet presents prima facie evidence indicating that public sector hiring was allegedly exploited as leverage for land transactions carried out through cash payments, often below market price, and routed through family-linked entities and private associates.
Charges have been framed not only against the former minister but also his wife Rabri Devi, sons Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav, daughters Misa Bharti and Hema Yadav, and 40 other co-accused, including former aides and beneficiaries of the alleged recruitment network.
Of the 98 surviving accused named in the case, the court said 46 will stand trial, while 52 have been discharged, after a petition seeking blanket discharge by the principal accused was rejected. The court termed the discharge request “unwarranted,” stressing that the prosecution record contained enough material to examine culpability through trial, not preliminary dismissal.
The case will now advance to its next hearing on January 29, where procedural steps for trial progression are expected to be outlined. Parallelly, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) continues to track a money-laundering angle linked to land transfers in Patna and Patna-based shell entities, though the corruption trial will proceed independently of the ED’s findings.
The CBI alleges that jobs were issued across multiple railway zones in return for land parcels registered in the names of family members or a connected private company, often executed through direct cash payments and informal sale deeds.
With charges now framed, the case has entered its most decisive phase yet, transitioning from inquiry to formal prosecution, and placing the former minister and his family at the centre of one of India’s most politically watched corruption trials.
