Delhi high court dismisses Lalu Yadav’s plea seeking stay in land-for-jobs scam case

NEW DELHI: Delhi high court on Saturday dismissed the plea filed by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief and former railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav seeking to stay trial court proceedings in the alleged ‘land-for-jobs’ corruption case. The case, investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), centres on accusations that Yadav granted railway jobs in exchange for land parcels, which were transferred to his family or associates during his tenure from 2004 to 2009.Yadav had approached the high court through senior advocate Kapil Sibal, arguing that the CBI’s investigation and subsequent charges were invalid due to the absence of mandatory prior sanction under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act. He claimed this sanction was required before any inquiry or investigation could legally proceed against a public servant and noted that while sanction was obtained for others involved, it was not granted in his case. The plea sought to quash the FIR and postpone charge framing, which was scheduled to begin on 2 June.The CBI opposed the petition, maintaining that sanction under Section 19 had been duly secured and that Section 17A was not applicable. It also said that the issue of mandatory sanction is currently pending before a larger bench of the Supreme Court.The allegations remain centred on the manipulation of railway Group-D appointments in exchange for land, with multiple chargesheets filed since 2022.