The Delhi High Court on Tuesday rejected Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad’s plea to quash the case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the land-for-jobs issue.
The Bench of Justice Ravinder Dudega held that the petition was devoid of merits and that the absence of prior approval under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, did not invalidate the preliminary investigation, registration of the FIR or the cognizance orders passed by the Special Judge.
Certainly, the aforementioned article obligates police officers to obtain prior approval before conducting an investigation, inquiry or trial into an alleged corruption crime by a public official, if the crime relates to official recommendations or decisions.
On January 13, the Supreme Court issued a divided ruling on the constitutionality of the aforementioned section.
While Justice BV Nagarathna struck it down as unconstitutional, Justice KV Vishwanathan upheld it being subject to safeguards.
Read also: Land vs Jobs Case: Delhi HC notice on Lalu Yadav and Rabri Devi’s plea over ‘unreliable’ documents
“The absence of prior consent under this judgment, does not invalidate the preliminary investigation, registration of FIR or cognizance orders passed by the Special Judge. Accordingly, the petition devoid of merits is dismissed,” the court said while pronouncing the judgment.
A detailed copy of the ruling has not yet been uploaded.
The RJD chief had asked the Supreme Court to quash the case, citing no punishment under Section 17A, to initiate a preliminary investigation.
In his petition, Lalu through his lawyers Kapil Sibal and Maninder Singh contended that though the CBI had conducted an investigation from 2009 to 2014 and submitted the closure report before the competent court, initiating the fresh investigation in 2021 and registering the FIR thereafter in 2022, amounted to concealment of the earlier investigations and closure report which amounted to an abuse of process of law.
Lalu, in his petition, also contended that the city court’s 2023 order to peruse the charge sheet filed against him was “bad” as it failed to ignore the illegality committed by the CBI during the investigation.
The CBI, represented by Additional Solicitors General SV Raju and DP Singh, argued that it was not important for the agency to seek sanction earlier under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, since the actions in question were not carried out by Lalu in the discharge of official duties.
The land allotment case for the post relates to Group D appointments made in the Western Central Railway Zone based in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, during Lalu Prasad’s tenure as Railway Minister from 2004 to 2009, in return for plots of land that were given or transferred by recruiters in the name of the RJD senior family or his associates, according to officials.
On May 18, 2022, the CBI 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 released on bail in the CBI case, saying they should not be arrested before filing the chargesheet.
On January 9, the court framed charges of corruption and criminal conspiracy against former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, sons and daughter, in the alleged land-for-jobs case, stating that Yadav had used the Railway Ministry as his “personal fiefdom” to carry out a criminal enterprise when he was Union minister.
In its January 9 order, the trial court concluded that the chargesheet revealed a comprehensive conspiracy wherein Yadav used public office as a bargaining chip to favorably acquire lands in the name of his family members, including sons Tejashwi and Tej Pratap Yadav, wife Rabri Devi and daughter Misa Bharti.
