The Supreme Court has made it clear that it will not stop the trial court proceedings against former Bihar Chief Minister and RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav in the ongoing CBI investigation related to the controversial "land-for-jobs" scam.
A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh while hearing the matter on Friday, refused to interfere with the case at this stage. However, the court did grant relief to Lalu Yadav by allowing him exemption from personally appearing before the court for trial now.
The judges also asked the Delhi High Court to speed up its hearing on Yadav’s petition in which he has requested the withdrawal of the FIR filed by the CBI. The Supreme Court made it clear that it expects the High Court to hear and decide the matter without unnecessary delay.
Earlier, on May 29, the Delhi High Court too had refused to stay the trial proceedings. It said there were no strong reasons to do so at the moment. The High Court has already issued a notice to the CBI, asking them to respond to Lalu Yadav’s plea. The next hearing in that matter is scheduled for August 12.
This case dates back to when Lalu Prasad Yadav was the Union Railway Minister between 2004 and 2009. According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), during that time, a number of people were allegedly given Group D jobs in the Indian Railways, especially in the West Central Zone based in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.
In exchange for these jobs, the recruits or their families are believed to have transferred land or property either free of cost or at very low prices to members of Lalu Yadav’s family or people closely associated with him. The CBI alleges that this was a clear misuse of public office for personal benefit.
