Land for job case: Court asks competent authority to decide question of sanction against Lalu and others

New Delhi: The Rouse Avenue court on Monday asked the competent authority to decide the question of sanction against former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and other public servants within two weeks.
Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) judge Vishal Gogne asked the competent authority to decide the question of sanction of prosecution against 32 public servants, including former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, and listed the matter on July 31.
The conclusive charge sheet filed by the CBI is at the stage of consideration. The court listed the matter on July 31. The Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) for CBI DP Singh informed the court that prosecution sanction against accused public servants is awaited.
On June 7, the CBI filed a conclusive charge sheet against Lalu Prasad Yadav and 77 other accused in the land for job case. The charge also includes 38 accused candidates.
The court on May 29 directed CBI to file its conclusive charge sheet in land for the job case. The court had also expressed its displeasure over the non-filing of the conclusive charge sheet despite giving time.
In this case, Lalu Prasad Yadav and his family members, Rabri Devi and Tejaswi Yadav, have been mentioned as accused in the Land for Job Scam.
On October 4, 2023, the court granted bail to former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, Rabri Devi, and others in relation to a fresh charge sheet in the alleged land for job scam case.
According to the CBI, the second chargesheet is against 17 accused, including the Union Minister of Railways, his wife, son, the GM of West Central Railways (WCR), two CPOs of WCR, private persons, private companies, etc. in a case related to land for job scam
The CBI filed a chargesheet in the land for the job alleged scam case against former Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, including ex-Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, and others .
CBI had registered a case on May 18, 2022, against the then Union Minister of Railways and others, including his wife, two daughters, and unknown public servants and private persons.
It is alleged that the Union Minister of Railways during the period 2004-2009 obtained pecuniary advantages in the form of the transfer of landed property in the name of his family members, etc., in lieu of the appointment of substitutes in Group "D" posts in different Zones of Railways.
It was further alleged that in lieu thereof, the substitutes, who were residents of Patna themselves or through their family members, sold and gifted their land situated at Patna in favour of the family members of said Minister and a private company controlled by his family members, which was also involved in the transfer of such immovable properties in the name of said family members.
It was also alleged that no advertisement or any public notice was issued for such appointments of substitutes in Zonal Railways, yet the appointees who were residents of Patna were appointed as substitutes in different Zonal Railways located at Mumbai, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Jaipur and Hazipur.
Searches were conducted at multiple places, including in Delhi and Bihar, the CBI said.
During the investigation, it was found that the then Union Minister of Railways, with intent to acquire the land parcels situated at the places where his family was already owning land parcels or the places that were already connected to him, entered into a conspiracy with associates and family members and allegedly derived a design to grab the land of various land owners by offering or providing group D employment in Railways, CBI said.
The accused had allegedly collected applications and documents of such candidates through associates and then sent those to West Central Railway for processing and providing jobs in railways, and the General Managers of West Central Railways, under the influence or control of accused, accorded approval for the engagement of candidates.
For providing jobs in Railways, they allegedly devised an indirect way wherein the candidates were engaged firstly as substitutes and subsequently, were regularised. A hard disc containing lists of candidates (who were engaged) was also recovered during searches.
It was further alleged that a land parcel was purchased in the name of a private company at Rs 10.83 lakh during 2007, and subsequently, the said land, along with some other land parcels purchased by the said company, were brought into the ownership and control of his wife and son of the then Union Minister of Railways, by way of a transfer of shares at Rs one lakh only.
At the time of transfer, the company was allegedly owning land parcels purchased at a total cost of Rs 1.77 crore (approximately), and they were transferred for a mere Rs 1 lakh (approximately); however, the market value of the lands was much higher.
Earlier, a chargesheet was filed on October 7, 2022, against 16 accused.