The Delhi High Court on Monday sought a response from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on a plea filed by RJD leader and former Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav challenging the trial court order that framed charges against him in the alleged IRCTC scam case.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, however, declined to stay the trial at this stage, observing that such relief could not be granted without examining the investigating agency’s reply. The court issued notice to the CBI on Yadav’s petition as well as his application seeking a stay, and listed the matter for further hearing on January 14.
Lalu Prasad has approached the High Court assailing the October 13, 2025 order of the trial court, which framed charges against him, his wife and former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi, son and former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, and 11 other accused in the case.
The trial court had framed charges for alleged offences of cheating and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), along with provisions of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act. In its order, the trial court made strong observations, stating that the land and share transactions involved were “possibly an instance of crony capitalism fostered in the garb of eliciting private participation in the Railways’ hotels at Ranchi and Puri.”
Apart from Lalu Prasad, charges under Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(d)(ii) and (iii) of the PC Act were framed against Pradeep Kumar Goel, Rakesh Saksena, Bhupendra Kumar Agarwal, Rakesh Kumar Gogia and Vinod Kumar Asthana. These provisions relate to criminal misconduct by a public servant and abuse of official position to obtain undue advantage.
The trial court also directed framing of charges under IPC Section 420 (cheating) against Lalu Prasad, Rabri Devi, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, M/s LARA Projects LLP, Vijay Kochhar, Vinay Kochhar, Sarla Gupta and Prem Chand Gupta.
Further, a common charge of criminal conspiracy under Section 120B IPC was ordered to be framed against all 14 accused, read with Section 420 IPC and the relevant provisions of the PC Act.
Under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the maximum punishment prescribed is 10 years of imprisonment, while the offence of cheating under the IPC carries a maximum sentence of seven years.
The High Court will consider the matter further after receiving the CBI’s response.
