New Delhi, February 10 The CBI opposed in the Delhi High Court petitions filed by RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, and son Tejashwi Yadav, challenging the framing of charges in the IRCTC scam case.
Additional Solicitor General D P Singh, appearing for the agency, stated that it was a case of corruption and "quid pro quo" which caused loss to the exchequer.
According to the CBI's FIR, Lalu Yadav, the then railway minister, entered into a criminal conspiracy with the owner of Sujata Hotels, Sarla Gupta, wife of his close associate Prem Chand Gupta, a Rashtriya Janata Dal MP in the Rajya Sabha, and IRCTC officials for "undue pecuniary advantage to himself and others".
The CBI has alleged in its chargesheet that the conspiracy was hatched between 2004 and 2014.
The investigating agency has alleged that BNR hotels were transferred to Sujata Hotels through a "rigged and manipulated" tender process managed by P K Goyal, the then managing director of IRCTC, and the Yadav family acquired land parcels in Patna at undervalued rates in return.
"The entire acquisition (of land in this case) raises grave suspicions, and as a prosecutor, I would use the term dubious. This is how the land is acquired. The purchase of land was when Mrs. Yadav was the chief minister," said ASG Singh.
The court will continue to hear the matter on Wednesday.
On October 13, 2025, the trial court framed charges against Lalu Yadav, Rabri Devi, Tejashwi Yadav, and 11 others in the case for the alleged offenses of cheating, criminal conspiracy, and corruption under the Indian Penal Code and sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Besides Lalu Yadav, the court also framed charges against Pradeep Kumar Goel, Rakesh Saxena, Bhupendra Kumar Agarwal, Rakesh Kumar Gogia, and Vinod Kumar Asthana under Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(d)(ii) and (iii) of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act.
Section 13(2) deals with the punishment for criminal misconduct by a public servant, and Section 13(1)(d)(ii) and (iii) with abuse of position by a public servant to obtain favours.
The court had also directed that the charges be framed under IPC section 420 (cheating) against Lalu Prasad, Rabri Devi, Tejashwi, M/s LARA Projects LLP, Vijay Kochhar, Vinay Kochhar, Sarla Gupta, and Prem Chand Gupta.
The maximum punishment under the PC Act is 10 years, while for cheating is seven years.
