IRCTC Scam Case: Court Defers order on framing of charges Against Lalu Prasad, Rabri Devi, Tejashwi Yadav

Special Judge Vishal Gogne of Rouse Avenue Court had reserved its order on May 29 after hearing detailed arguments on charge.

"In continuation of the previous bulk listing of the present matter from 28.02.2025 to 07.03.2025; 22.03.2025 to 29.03.2025, 21.04.2025 to 26.04.2025 and from 07.05.2025 to 21.05.2025, the matter is again listed today," the Court had noted on May 29.

The Judge had said, "Limited submissions have been addressed by the ld. Sr. Counsel for the CBI in terms of the previous order. The arguments thus stand concluded on the aspect of charge. The accused persons who have not furnished written submissions are at liberty to file a short synopsis of their arguments comprising no more than 6 to 8 pages within one week."

"Since extensive arguments have been advanced by the respective counsels for the 14 accused with reference to the voluminuous record and the proceedings have stretched over several months even with day to day hearing in bulk dates, the court shall require suitable time for pronouncing the order on charge. Accordingly, the matter is directed to be listed for orders on charge on 23.07.2025," the Court had said.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has accused the trio and other co-accused of criminal conspiracy, cheating, and corruption; offences that carry a maximum sentence of seven years. The accused have denied the allegations, claiming there is no prosecutable evidence.

Lalu Prasad, who served as the Union Railway Minister during the UPA-I regime, has also contested the validity of prosecution sanctions obtained by the CBI.

The CBI, on its part, argued before the Court on February 28 that there is enough material to proceed with trial.

According to the CBI’s charge sheet, a conspiracy was allegedly executed between 2004 and 2014, wherein the BNR Hotels in Puri and Ranchi, owned by Indian Railways, were first transferred to the IRCTC and then awarded on lease to Sujata Hotels Pvt Ltd, a Patna-based private firm. The tender conditions were purportedly manipulated to benefit the company.

Besides the Yadav family, the charge sheet names former IRCTC officials V K Asthana and R K Goyal; directors of Sujata Hotels, Vijay and Vinay Kochhar; and corporate entities Delight Marketing Company (now Lara Projects) and Sujata Hotels as accused.

The Court will now pronounce its decision on charge framing on August 5.