NEW DELHI, Dec 4: A Delhi court on Thursday deferred its order on framing charges in the alleged land-for-job case against RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, his family members, and others, and directed the CBI to submit a status report verifying the current status of all accused persons.
Special CBI Judge Vishal Gogne asked the agency to confirm details after noting that of the 103 individuals charge-sheeted in the matter, four have died during the proceedings. The court posted the case for further hearing on December 8.
The CBI has filed chargesheets naming Lalu Prasad Yadav, former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi, and their children—Tejashwi Yadav, Tej Pratap Yadav, Misa Bharti, and Hema Yadav—among other accused, in connection with appointments made in the Railways allegedly in exchange for land parcels.
According to the prosecution, the alleged irregular appointments pertained to Group-D posts in the West Central Railway, Jabalpur, and were made during Lalu Prasad’s tenure as Union Railway Minister between 2004 and 2009, purportedly in return for land transactions benefiting the accused and associates.
During Thursday’s hearing, Special Public Prosecutor D.P. Singh informed the court that the CBI would verify the status of all accused and file the requested report. The directive follows procedural checks triggered by changes in the roster of accused over time.
The court’s decision to defer framing of charges maintains the pre-trial stage as the CBI completes verification, after which the court will consider the charges based on the submitted material and procedural compliance.
The matter has seen prior scheduling adjustments, with the latest deferral aligning the case timeline toward the December 8 proceedings, where the status report and next steps on charge framing are expected to be taken up.
