New Delhi: A court in New Delhi on Monday framed charges against Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi, and their son Tejashwi Yadav, who is the Leader of Opposition in Bihar, in the alleged IRCTC hotel scam case, setting the stage for a high-profile trial just ahead of the Bihar Assembly polls.
Special Judge Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Court framed common charges of criminal conspiracy (Section 120B) and cheating (Section 420) against Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav, while Lalu Prasad Yadav was additionally charged under relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The court noted that sufficient material existed to proceed against all accused.
All three leaders pleaded not guilty, and a detailed order is awaited.
Earlier, on 24 September , the court had directed all accused persons to appear physically for the framing of charges.
According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chargesheet, the alleged conspiracy was executed between 2004 and 2014, during Lalu Prasad Yadav’s tenure as Union Railway Minister. The case pertains to irregularities in the award of operational contracts for two Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) hotels — the BNR Hotels in Ranchi and Puri — to Sujata Hotels Private Limited, a Patna-based private company.
The CBI has alleged that the tender process was rigged and manipulated, with conditions tweaked to favour Sujata Hotels, owned by the Kochhar brothers, Vijay and Vinay Kochhar, who also run the Chanakya Hotel in Patna.
The charge sheet claims that, as part of the quid pro quo arrangement, land parcels and properties were transferred at undervalued prices to companies linked to the Yadav family. This alleged exchange of government contracts for land has been described as part of the now-infamous “land-for-contract” or “land-for-job” model that the CBI says benefitted Lalu Yadav’s family and associates.
The investigation further found that the BNR Hotels, originally owned by Indian Railways, were first transferred to the IRCTC and later leased to Sujata Hotels Pvt Ltd. The land on Patna’s Bailey Road, estimated to have a market value of nearly Rs 94 crore but sold for just Rs 65 lakh, became a key element in the case.
The charge sheet names V.K. Asthana and R.K. Goyal, then Group General Managers of IRCTC, along with Vijay Kochhar and Vinay Kochhar, as co-accused. Corporate entities Sujata Hotels Pvt Ltd and Delight Marketing Company (now renamed Lara Projects) have also been charged.
In its preliminary observations, the court noted that the alleged fraud was intended to deceive and cause harm, adding that the harm caused was monetary and not merely symbolic. The court also said the material on record suggested that Lalu Yadav misused his position and interfered with the tendering process, while members of his family directly benefited through land acquisitions at undervalued rates.
The matter will now proceed to trial, marking another major corruption case involving the RJD patriarch, who has already been convicted in multiple fodder scam cases.
The framing of charges comes at a politically sensitive time, with the election process in Bihar already in motion.
The case is expected to feature prominently in the BJP’s campaign narrative.
The RJD, on the other hand, is expected to turn this into an instance of the BJP using central agencies to target the opposition leaders.
Shortly after the court’s order, BJP MP from Patna Saheb and former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad addressed a press conference, calling the development a “historic day exposing the family’s corruption.”
He accused the Yadav family of turning government offices into personal profit centres, citing what he termed the “four models of Lalu-era corruption” — the fodder scam, coal tar scam, land-for-jobs, and now the land-for-hotels model.
“The poor were the biggest victims of this so-called social justice. Land was taken from labourers and Class IV employees in exchange for promises of jobs that never came. The pattern is clear — land from the poor, benefit to the family,” Prasad said.
He further alleged that Tejashwi Yadav and his family collectively owned multiple agricultural, residential, and commercial properties, questioning how a person born in 1990 could have acquired 11 properties by the age of 17. “If this is their model of governance, Bihar’s people must decide whether they want jobs or to lose their land again,” he added.
Prasad said that the CBI investigated 17 related cases, and the current proceedings were “a continuation of that chain of corruption.” He emphasised that “everything is now before the court, and justice will take its course.”
With charges now framed, the IRCTC case will move into the trial phase, where the court will examine witnesses and evidence to determine culpability. If convicted, the offences under the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act carry a maximum sentence of seven years.
