The Rouse Avenue court on Wednesday granted bail to Rashtriya Janata Dal leaders Lalu Prasad, Rabri Devi and Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Tejashwi Yadav in a case pertaining to land-for-jobs scam in the Indian Railways.
The bail orders were passed by special CBI Judge Geetanjali Goel who cited a Supreme Court judgment that says that if an accused was either not arrested consciously by the prosecution or arrested and enlarged on bail, there is no need for further arrest at the instance of the court.
“.... in cases where the investigating agency has not exercised the power of arrest, there is no need for further arrest at the instance of the Court. As such, when the accused is charge sheeted without arrest, there would be no need for arrest at the instance of the Court. Further there is nothing to show that the accused are a flight risk. The charge-sheet has already been filed,” the bail order reads.
The court granted bail to 14 persons, including the Prasad family, on furnishing personal bond of ₹50,000 each with surety of like amount.
“The accused persons shall not tamper with the evidence nor try to influence,” the court ordered.
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To mention, the accused were last month summoned in the matter as the court took cognisance of a fresh chargesheet filed by the CBI on July 3.
The FIR in the matter was filed in May 2022 in which it was alleged that during 2004-2009, the appointment of several substitutes on the Group “D” posts was done in different zones of Railways in exchange for land parcels.
The substitutes, who were residents of Patna, themselves or through their family members, sold or gifted their land to Mr. Prasad’s family members and the private company controlled by them. The company was also involved in the transfer of such immovable properties in the name of his family members, as alleged by the agency.
According to the CBI, no advertisements or any public notice had allegedly been issued for the appointment of substitutes, yet the candidates in question were inducted in different zonal railways located in Mumbai, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Jaipur and Hazipur. Their applications and documents were collected through some persons and sent to the WCR for processing. Under the influence of the accused, the then general managers gave approvals. The substitutes were later regularised.
In October 2022, the CBI filed first chargesheet in this case.
Based on the CBI case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is conducting a money-laundering probe. The ED had earlier alleged to have detected “proceeds of crime” currently worth ₹600 crore.
