On Monday, the Rouse Avenue Court officially indicted former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and former Bihar Chief minister Rabri Devi in the high profile Land-for-Job CBI case. Lalu and Rabri were brought to the court and they denied the charges and declared their readiness to go to trial. The case is linked to the purported employment of Railway Group Ds to the candidates on the condition to provide land, as the case involves multiple members of the Yadav family.
Special Judge Vishal Gogne ordered the accused to show up before the court unless authorized to show up through video conferencing. Considering their age and medical conditions, Misa Bharti stated that the court permitted them to conduct video conferencing on their appearances. The charges are a continuation of the order of the court dated January 9, which had ordered the indemnification of charges against Lalu Prasad, Rabri Devi, Tejaswi Yadav, Tej Pratap Yadav, Misa Bharti and other accused.
The court noted that prima facie a conspiracy existed between Lalu Prasad Yadav who, on one hand, was using government jobs as a bargaining tool to purchase immovable property via his family members. It pointed out that the Yadav family was a syndicate in the supposed scam. Among the 103 people who were charge-sheeted by the CBI 52 have been discharged whereas five accused people died during proceedings. There are criminal conspiracy, cheating, and crimes based on the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Senior counsel Maninder Singh who represented Lalu Prasad Yadav told the court that the case was politically colored saying that there was no evidence of jobs being exchanged with land. He further said that land transaction concerned legitimate purchases at their right price. On the same note, the advice given by Rabri Devi argued that the land was acquired in a just manner that there was no favoritism to any candidate.
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