Land-for-jobs case: Lalu Yadav says CBI FIR filed without sanction, urges Delhi High Cout to quash it

Lalu Yadav

RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav on Monday sought quashing of the CBI FIR in the land-for-jobs scam case arguing in the Delhi High Court that it was registered without requisite sanction.

Yadav's counsel argued before Justice Ravinder Dudeja that the CBI investigation was "illegal".

"CBI registered the FIR without mandatory sanction under the PC (Prevention of Corruption) Act. That makes the entire investigation illegal. In the absence of the sanction, the investigation could not have begun. Entire proceedings are wrong," senior advocate Kapil Sibal argued.

Sibal said sanction was required for Yadav as he was then discharging official duties as the Railways Minister.

"We are challenging lack of sanction. They could not have initiated the FIR. Investigation cannot start. We are only interested in setting aside the RC," he added.

The CBI, meanwhile, accused Yadav of not completing his argument on charge before the trial court "on purpose".

"Arguments will be complete tomorrow before trial court. On purpose they're not completing their arguments before trial court," the CBI counsel said.

The judge observed that the lack of sanction "even if accepted, would apply only to offences under PC Act, not IPC".

The hearing will continue on September 25.

The Supreme Court on July 18 refused to stay the trial court proceedings in the case prior to which the high court on May 29 did not find a "compelling reason" to stay the proceedings.

The case is related to Group D appointments made in the West Central Zone of the Indian Railways based in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, during Yadav's tenure as the railway minister between 2004 and 2009, allegedly in return for land parcels gifted or transferred by the recruits in the name of the RJD supremo's family or associates.

The case was registered on May 18, 2022, against Yadav and others, including his wife, two daughters, unidentified public officials and private persons.

The former chief minister said the FIR was lodged in 2022 -- after an almost 14-year delay -- despite the CBI's initial enquiries and investigations being closed after filing of closure report before the competent court.

"Initiation of the fresh investigation in the concealment of the previous investigations and its closure reports is nothing but an abuse of the process of law," the petition said.

The petitioner argued he was being made to suffer through an "illegal, motivated investigation" in violation of his fundamental right to a fair investigation.

Yadav called it a scenario of "regime revenge and political vendetta" as the initiation of investigation without such approval vitiated the entire proceedings since inception with the being a "jurisdictional error".