New Delhi: A special CBI court on Monday framed charges against former Union railway minister Lalu Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi, son Tejashwi Yadav and others for their alleged involvement in the IRCTC hotels scandal.
The court framed charges of corruption (under relevant provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act), criminal conspiracy, cheating and others against Lalu. Rabri Devi, Tejashwi and others are charged with several offences, including conspiracy and cheating. All the three pleaded not guilty in the court.
The trial in the high-profile case will eventually kickstart later this month. The CBI is expected to produce its prosecution witnesses in the case. According to people in the know, Lalu and other co-accused are likely to challenge the order. Framing the charges, special CBI Judge Vishal Gogne held that he has reached a prima facie conclusion that Lalu was in the complete know of the processes and intervened to influence the transfer of the hotels. Pronouncing the order, the judge said, "There were material modifications in the tender process... It has emerged as a distinct possibility that at the point of sale, the land parcels were undervalued and then came to be vested in the hands of Lalu."
The court further observed that Lalu's actions caused great loss to the public exchequer. It also said that various individuals "engaged in a conspiracy which may have involved multiple smaller conspiracies". The judge further underlined that the court stressed that the entire process amounted to crony capitalism in the garb of promoting private participation.
This conspiracy is not entirely hidden; the entire transaction is prima facie fraudulent, and the accused cannot be discharged at this stage, the judge said. Concluding its arguments in July, the CBI had urged the special CBI court to frame charges against the accused under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The CBI had booked Lalu, his family members and others in July 2017 for allegedly making ill-gotten gains by tweaking the terms of tender of IRCTC hotels.
The court framed charges of corruption (under relevant provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act), criminal conspiracy, cheating and others against Lalu. Rabri Devi, Tejashwi and others are charged with several offences, including conspiracy and cheating. All the three pleaded not guilty in the court.
The trial in the high-profile case will eventually kickstart later this month. The CBI is expected to produce its prosecution witnesses in the case. According to people in the know, Lalu and other co-accused are likely to challenge the order. Framing the charges, special CBI Judge Vishal Gogne held that he has reached a prima facie conclusion that Lalu was in the complete know of the processes and intervened to influence the transfer of the hotels. Pronouncing the order, the judge said, "There were material modifications in the tender process... It has emerged as a distinct possibility that at the point of sale, the land parcels were undervalued and then came to be vested in the hands of Lalu."
The court further observed that Lalu's actions caused great loss to the public exchequer. It also said that various individuals "engaged in a conspiracy which may have involved multiple smaller conspiracies". The judge further underlined that the court stressed that the entire process amounted to crony capitalism in the garb of promoting private participation.
This conspiracy is not entirely hidden; the entire transaction is prima facie fraudulent, and the accused cannot be discharged at this stage, the judge said. Concluding its arguments in July, the CBI had urged the special CBI court to frame charges against the accused under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The CBI had booked Lalu, his family members and others in July 2017 for allegedly making ill-gotten gains by tweaking the terms of tender of IRCTC hotels.
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