New Delhi: Former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav has moved the Delhi High Court challenging a trial court decision that ordered the framing of criminal charges against him and his family members in the alleged IRCTC hotel scam case.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief has filed a criminal revision petition assailing the order passed by the Rouse Avenue Court, which had found sufficient grounds to proceed against the accused for offences relating to corruption, criminal conspiracy and cheating.
As per the causelist published on the website of the Delhi HC, the matter is scheduled to come up for hearing before a single-judge Bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma on January 5.
In an order passed on October 13, 2025, Special Judge (PC Act) Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Courts paved the way for the trial of Lalu Prasad Yadav, his son Tejashwi Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, and other accused under Sections 420 (cheating) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as well as the Prevention of Corruption Act, after they pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The special court had reserved its order on May 29 after hearing detailed arguments on framing of charges against Lalu Prasad, his family members, Prem Gupta, Sarla Gupta and Railway officials Rakesh Saksena and P.K. Goyal.
The alleged scam took place between 2004 to 2009 when Lalu Prasad was the Union Railway Minister.
During his tenure, two hotels were given on lease without following the norms. One of the hotels was allotted to Sarla Gupta, wife of Prem Gupta, a close associate of the RJD chief and a Rajya Sabha MP at the time.
As per the prosecution, the RJD leader got three acres of prime land through a benami company. Claiming that there were no irregularities on his part, Lalu Prasad said that the tenders were awarded fairly and had sought a discharge from the case.
Meanwhile, in a setback to Rabri Devi and other members of the Yadav family, a Delhi court recently dismissed pleas seeking the transfer of multiple corruption and money-laundering cases from the court of Special Judge Vishal Gogne.
Principal District and Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge (PC Act) Dinesh Bhatt of the Rouse Avenue Courts rejected four transfer petitions filed by Rabri Devi, about the IRCTC hotel scam case, the CBI’s land-for-jobs case and two connected money-laundering prosecutions being pursued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
With the dismissal of the transfer pleas, all criminal cases against Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rabri Devi, Tejashwi Yadav and other family members will continue to be heard by Special Judge Vishal Gogne.
IANS
