A Delhi court today ordered the framing of money laundering charges against former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi and their son Tejashwi Yadav in the IRCTC hotel scam case. Special Judge Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Courts held that a prima facie case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act is made out against them and several co-accused.
The court observed that there exists a strong suspicion of abuse of office and of proceeds of crime in the hands of Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav. It noted that they continue to enjoy a tainted land parcel in Patna that was transferred at the behest of Lalu Prasad Yadav during the years when he served as Union Railway Minister.
According to the prosecution, during Lalu Prasad’s tenure as Railway Minister between 2004 and 2009, two IRCTC hotels in Ranchi and Puri were leased to Sujata Hotels through a manipulated tender process. In return, prime land in Patna was transferred at a fraction of its market value to a company linked to the family. The land was first moved to Sarla Gupta, described as a close associate, and later the shares were transferred to Rabri Devi at a nominal price. The Enforcement Directorate has treated the land and related benefits as proceeds of crime generated from the alleged quid pro quo.
Charges have also been ordered against Lara Projects, Sarla Gupta, Prem Chand Gupta, Sujata Hotels, Vinay Kochhar and Vijay Kochhar. The court discharged seven other accused, including Rahul Yadav (Lalu’s son-in-law), Gaurav Gupta, Nath Mal Kankarnia, Vijay Tripathi, D.N. Tulshyan, Rajiv Relan and Abhishek Finance.
Formal charges are scheduled to be framed on 3 October. The case will then proceed to trial. Last October the same court had already framed charges of corruption, criminal conspiracy and cheating against Lalu Prasad in the related CBI case. Tejashwi Yadav and Rabri Devi were charged with conspiracy and cheating in that proceeding as well.
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The CBI FIR registered in July 2018 alleged that the hotel maintenance contracts were awarded without following prescribed norms and that the land transfer constituted the bribe. The ED later registered a separate money laundering case on the basis of those predicate offences. Defence counsel had argued that the investigation was driven by political vendetta. The court rejected that contention, stating that the nature, timing and course of the investigation did not appear to be so inspired.
The order marks a significant procedural step in a case that has been under investigation for eight years. With charges now ordered under the PMLA, the trial will examine whether the land transactions and the hotel leases formed a linked arrangement that generated laundered proceeds. The next hearing is set for the formal framing of charges.
