Supreme Court Refuses To Defer Framing Of Charges Against Lalu Prasad Yadav; Says Charges Will Be Subject To Quash Petition In HC

The Supreme Court today refused to defer the ongoing hearing on the framing of charges by the trial court in the “land for jobs” case against former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. The Court disposed of Yadav's application filed through Advocate-on-Record Mudit Gupta seeking deferment of the trial court proceedings until August 12, when his quashing petition is listed for hearing before the Delhi High Court.A bench of Justice MM Sundresh and Justice N Kotiswar Singh remarked that the framing of charges by the trial court will be subject to the outcome of the petition pending before the High Court. The bench observed that the framing of charges will not render the pending High Court petition infructuous.During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju opposed the plea, arguing that Yadav can raise the ground that the CBI did not obtain prior sanction under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act before the trial court in discharge proceedings.Raju also sought imposition of costs on Yadav for filing the application, but the Court did not impose any costs.BackgroundEarlier, on July 18, the Supreme Court had refused to stay the trial proceedings in the case. The Court was hearing Yadav's petition challenging the Delhi High Court's refusal to stay the trial. On being told that the petition was only against an interim order and the main matter, i.e., the quashing petition, was pending before the High Court, the bench declined to interfere.The bench had, however, observed that Yadav need not be personally present during the trial and requested the Delhi High Court to expedite the hearing of his petition challenging the cognizance taken by the trial court. The Court then disposed of his petition.Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal had appeared for Lalu Prasad Yadav. Additional Solicitor General SV Raju had appeared for the CBI. Yadav had sought a stay on the ground that the CBI did not obtain prior sanction under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act before initiating the investigation. The Delhi High Court, while rejecting the interim stay application, had held that this issue could be raised at the stage of framing of charges.Lalu Yadav's petition before the High Court challenges the registration of the FIR, the three chargesheets filed by the CBI, and the orders of the trial court taking cognizance. On June 12, Justice Ravinder Dudeja of the High Court issued notice in the main petition but refused to stay the proceedings, holding that there were no compelling reasons to halt the trial.Sibal had argued before the High Court that the absence of prior sanction under Section 17A rendered the entire process, including the filing of the chargesheets and cognizance by the trial court, void. He submitted that continuing with the trial without resolving the sanction issue would make the quashing petition infructuous if charges are framed.Senior Advocate DP Singh for the CBI had opposed the plea, arguing that the issue of Section 17A's applicability to pre-2018 offences is pending before a Larger Bench of the Supreme Court and that the matter could be raised before the trial court.The High Court, while dismissing the interim application, had said that Yadav remained free to raise his objections before the trial court.According to the CBI, the case concerns appointments made in Group-D posts in various Railway zones between 2004 and 2009, when Yadav was the Union Railway Minister. In exchange for these appointments, it is alleged that land parcels were transferred to Yadav's family members and a company M/s AK Infosystems Pvt Ltd which was later acquired by his family. The CBI filed its chargesheet on October 10, 2022, against 16 accused persons, including Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, and daughter Misa Bharti.Case no. – MA 1353/2025 in SLP(Crl) No. 10097/2025 Diary No. 41178 / 2025Case Title – Lalu Prasad Yadav v. Central Bureau of InvestigationClick Here To Read/Download Order

Supreme Court Refuses To Defer Framing Of Charges Against Lalu Prasad Yadav; Says Charges Will Be Subject To Quash Petition In HC

Amisha Shrivastava

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