President Droupadi Murmu has authorized the prosecution of former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav in connection with the land-for-jobs case. Following this approval, the CBI submitted a copy of the sanction to Delhi's Rouse Avenue court on Friday.
The court will now review the CBI's chargesheet against Yadav and others involved, which pertains to alleged railway appointments made in exchange for land. The court is set to frame charges against the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Yadav and his family.
The land-for-jobs case revolves around Group-D appointments in the West Central Zone of Indian Railways during Yadav's tenure as Union Railway Minister from 2004 to 2009. It is alleged that these appointments were made in return for land parcels, which were gifted or transferred by the recruits to Yadav's family or associates.
The land transfers were reportedly made in the names of Yadav's wife, Rabri Devi, and his two daughters, Misa Bharti and Hema Yadav. In October 2022, the CBI filed a chargesheet naming 16 individuals, including members of Yadav's family. Earlier in 2023, the court summoned Yadav and others, and the CBI has since questioned the RJD chief.
Additionally, in August 2024, the Enforcement Directorate filed a supplementary chargesheet against Lalu Yadav, his son and former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, along with eight others, in connection with an alleged money laundering case tied to the land-for-jobs scam.
