The Supreme Court on Friday refused to hear a special leave petition (SLP) moved by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, who had asked for a stay on trial court hearings in the ongoing case relating to land-for-jobs.
Lalu went to the country's highest court after the Delhi High Court rejected his petition for a halt on the trial, which is on charge sheets filed under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
But a bench of Justices M. M. Sundresh and N. Kotiswar Singh declined to intervene, saying that such cases should be left to the High Court. The bench further said that the highest court would not entertain what it called a "small matter" and asked Lalu to keep pursuing his plea to have the FIR quashed in the Delhi High Court.
The Railway Minister who had previously defended himself in the Delhi HC contended that according to legal provisions, any investigation against a public servant on the basis of recommendations or decisions made in the discharge of official duties must be preceded by an approval from a competent authority. The CBI's registration of the FIR without such authority, he said, made the entire process of investigation, filing charge sheets, and orders of cognisance legally null and void ab initio.
While hearing his submission, the High Court allowed Lalu to present these arguments while the trial court was hearing the charges and turned down his application to stay the trial proceedings.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had originally filed the case on May 18, 2022, against Lalu, his wife Rabri Devi, two daughters, and various unidentified public servants and private individuals as accused.
Subsequently, the agency filed a charge sheet against 16 people, including Rabri Devi and their daughter.
The offences, according to the CBI, are said to have been committed between 2004 and 2009 when Lalu was the Union Railway Minister. It is said to have occurred when, during his term in office, a number of people from Patna sold or donated land to members of Lalu's family or to firms owned by them in exchange for appointments to Group 'D' posts across different Railway zones.
The agency further noted that these appointments were made without any public advertisement or notice. However, people from Patna found alternative jobs in Railway zones in cities like Mumbai, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Jaipur, and Hajipur.
In a connected development, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is also investigating a money laundering case in connection with the case, had previously attached properties worth more than ₹6 crore of Lalu's relatives, including Rabri Devi and their daughter Misa Bharti, as well as assets of related firms.
