Former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi who is the Former Bihar Chief Minister and 14 others are likely to appear before a Delhi district court on Wednesday in association with a case linked to the alleged land-for-jobs scam. On February 27, The Rouse Avenue Court in the national capital summoned individuals regarding the alleged appointments that were reportedly exchanged for land parcels given or sold to Lalu Prasad’s family during his tenure as Union Railway Minister from 2004 to 2009, under the UPA government. 

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) included in its charge sheet that appointments were improper and violated the Indian Railways’ established standards and guidelines for recruitment. The agency’s report alleged that the job-seeker gave land to Yadav’s family members at extremely cheap prices, which directly benefited close family members and relatives. The CBI filed the charge sheet in the case on October 10, 2022, against the minister’s family members and others. 

Special judge Geetanjali Goel issued summon on February 27 to the accused people including Prasad’s daughter Misa Bharti and directed them to appear before the district court on March 15. “A perusal of the charge sheet, the documents and material on record prima facie show the commission of offences under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy), read with sections 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc.), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using forged document as genuine) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and many sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA). Accordingly, notice is taken of the said offences,” the Special Judge stated.

The CBI alleged that many residents of Bihar were appointed as replacements in the ‘Group D post’ from 2004 to 2009 in different zones of Indian railways located at Kolkata, Jaipur, Mumbai, Jabalpur and Hajipur. The investigation agency also added that there was no official advertisement or any public notice issued for substitute appointments in the zonal railways. On the other hand, the evaluation of the land as per the existing circle rate was about â¹ 4.39 crore, estimated by the CBI.