CBI Files Charges Against Lalu Prasad Yadav in Land-for-Job Scam

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a sanction to prosecute former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. The CBI received approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs and submitted it to the court. Special CBI Judge Vishal Gogne took the sanction on record.

According to sources, the CBI informed the court that there are over 30 other accused individuals for whom prosecution sanctions are still pending. The agency requested an additional 15 days to secure sanctions for these individuals. The court urged the CBI to expedite this process. The next hearing on the matter is scheduled for October 15.

In July, the court asked the authorities to decide on the sanction for prosecution against 32 public servants, including former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. The conclusive charge sheet filed by the CBI on June 7 is currently under consideration. Advocate Manu Mishra, proxy counsel for Special Public Prosecutor D.P. Singh, informed the court that prosecution sanctions against the accused public servants are still awaited.

On June 7, the CBI filed a conclusive charge sheet against Lalu Prasad Yadav and 77 other accused in the land-for-job case. The charge sheeted individuals also include 38 candidates. The court had directed the CBI on May 29 to file its conclusive charge sheet in the land-for-job case, expressing displeasure over the delay in filing it. In this case, Lalu Prasad Yadav and his family members are also accused. Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rabri Devi, and Tejashwi Yadav are named as accused in the land-for-job scam.

On October 4, 2023, the court granted bail to former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, Rabri Devi, and others in relation to the fresh charge sheet in the alleged land-for-job scam case. According to the CBI, the second charge sheet involves 17 accused, including the then Union Minister of Railways, his wife, son, the then General Manager of West Central Railways (WCR), two Chief Personnel Officers (CPOs) of WCR, private individuals, and a private company related to the case.

The CBI registered a case on May 18, 2022, against the then Union Minister of Railways, his wife, two daughters, and unknown public servants and private individuals. It is alleged that during the period from 2004 to 2009, the then Union Minister of Railways obtained financial advantages through the transfer of land in the name of his family members in exchange for the appointment of substitutes in Group ‘D’ posts across different railway zones. It is further alleged that, in return, the substitutes, who were residents of Patna or their family members, sold or gifted their land situated in Patna to the family members of the minister and a private company controlled by them.

No advertisements or public notices were issued for such appointments, yet the appointees, who were residents of Patna, were placed in Group ‘D’ positions in various railway zones, including Mumbai, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Jaipur, and Hajipur. Searches were conducted at multiple locations, including in Delhi and Bihar. During the investigation, the CBI found that the then Union Minister of Railways conspired with associates and family members to acquire land parcels connected to his family by offering Group ‘D’ employment in the railways. The accused allegedly collected applications and documents from candidates through associates and sent these to West Central Railway for processing and job placement. The General Managers of West Central Railways, under the influence of the accused, approved the engagement of candidates. They allegedly devised an indirect method for providing jobs, where candidates were initially engaged as substitutes and subsequently regularised. A hard disk containing lists of engaged candidates was recovered during searches.

It was further alleged that a land parcel was purchased in the name of a private company for Rs. 10.83 lakh in 2007. This land, along with other parcels owned by the company, was later transferred to the wife and son of the then Union Minister of Railways for a mere Rs. 1 lakh, despite the total market value of the land being much higher. Earlier, a charge sheet was filed on October 7, 2022, against 16 accused.