A Delhi court on Friday held that Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and members of his family functioned like a criminal enterprise while framing charges of corruption and criminal conspiracy against them in the Railways land-for-jobs case. The court observed that the material on record pointed to a coordinated and systematic misuse of public office for personal gain.
Special Judge Vishal Gogne, while passing the order on framing of charges, said that the court was satisfied, on the basis of the available evidence and reasonable inference, that a wide-ranging conspiracy existed. The judge noted that the actions attributed to Lalu Yadav and his family members were not isolated incidents but part of an organised pattern aimed at extracting benefits in exchange for public employment.
Rejecting the pleas seeking discharge, the court ruled that the request for acquittal by Lalu Yadav and his family was not sustainable at this stage. Referring to the chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, which is probing the case, the court said that several close associates of Yadav had been clearly identified as co-conspirators who played active roles in facilitating the alleged illegal transactions.
The court further held that Lalu Yadav and his family members operated collectively as part of an overarching conspiracy, using jobs in the Railways as leverage to obtain valuable land parcels. It observed that these acts were carried out independently of their formal roles, indicating deliberate planning and execution rather than administrative lapses or procedural errors.
In its order, the court said that charges would be framed against 46 of the 98 surviving accused named in the case, including Lalu Yadav and multiple members of his family. At the same time, it directed the acquittal of the remaining 52 accused, noting that the evidence presented in the chargesheet was insufficient to proceed against them.
The court also recalled that earlier attempts by Lalu Yadav to stall the proceedings had failed, with both the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court having rejected his petitions last year seeking to halt the trial.
The case itself stems from allegations that during Lalu Yadav’s tenure as Railway Minister between 2004 and 2009, appointments to Group D posts were allegedly granted in return for land being transferred to his family. According to the CBI, candidates or their relatives either sold or gifted land in Patna and other locations to members of the Yadav family or to companies linked to them, often at prices far below market value.
Investigators have alleged that these appointments bypassed established recruitment norms and that the transfers of land were directly linked to the granting of railway jobs. The Yadav family, however, has consistently denied all allegations, maintaining that the case is politically motivated and that no wrongdoing was committed.
