New Delhi, India July 21, 2025. In what can be described as major development that reiterate the effort towards faster disposal of corruption cases by courts in India, the Supreme Court of India has not only categorically refused to stay the trial proceedings going on against former Bihar Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav in the so called land-for-job scam but also asked the court below to proceed to a decision on the conclusion as expeditiously as possible. The ruling of the apex court by a bench of Justice M.M. Sundresh and N. Kotiswar Singh is an indication that the court gives go ahead to the trial to take its course, although it has accorded some relief to Yadav in personal appearance.
The decision was a blow to Lalu Prasad Yadav who had gone to the Supreme Court seeking to overturn an interim decision by Delhi High Court saying it would not stay the proceedings by the trial court. Although the Supreme Court did not intervene in the decision taken by the High Court to continue with the trial, it exempted Yadav to answer in the trial court as the age and health conditions could not allow him to appear in person. Moreover, the apex court recently requested the Delhi High Court to speed up the process of hearing of the main petition filed by Yadav to quash the First Information Report (FIR) filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against him in the case.
There were Allegations at the Center of the Scandal
The scam case of land-for-job goes back to the Heydays of Lalu Prasad Yadav who was the Union Railway Minister between the years of 2004 and 2009. The gist of the charges is that land parcels were traded in exchange of positions in the Group D service of the different zones of the then Indian Railways, Mumbai, Kolkata, Jaipur and Jabalpur included. Investigators allege that people who wanted to get jobs in the railways or their relatives sold or gave away land in Patna to the family of Lalu Prasad Yadav and a private firm owned by them in return of procuring an employment.
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Investigative agencies allege that there was no official advert or public announcement in the appointment of these so-called substitutes who were appointed in the Zonal Railways. Rather, the candidates mostly of Patna were supposedly hired in a rush and the procedures and guidelines to appointees in rails were purportedly overridden. These people were, later on, allegedly regularized in their services. The agencies allege that in order to obtain such appointments, land parcels are absorbed over at very low rates as compared to the current market value, by the family of Yadav, which is far much lower than the market value. The extent of the so called acquisition is quite huge and there are claims of transferring property of more than 1 lakh square feet of land at a very minimal amount as against its market value.
A Long-drawn court dispute
The case has involved a long drawn court battle with various charge-sheets filed by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). In the first chargesheet by the CBI, Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, and his daughter Misa Bharti were included, together with other people. His son, Tejashwi Yadav, was subsequently added to the list of accused by a supplementary chargesheet later. In its wide chargesheet, the ED has also accused that a buildup was created by a company being specifically incorporated to buy land of job seekers which is an intimation of a broader conspiracy.
The legal team of Lalu Prasad Yadav has remained adamant to the allegations terming it as politically motivated, and doubting the filing of the FIR that was done in 2022, over 14 years after the supposed scam purported to have taken place. They have even raised an issue about the mandatory sanction that should be procured under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act and have stated that the investigation should not have been initiated without due prior sanction given that Yadav happens to be a minister and his actions as a minister needed to be looked into. Though the prosecution has responded by stating that the crime was committed before the introduction of amendment act 2018, which added Section 17A, it is still being defended by the defense that the registration of FIR after the amendment introduced a necessary sanction.
The Judicial Stand and Direction by Supreme Court
Insisting that it was not going to consider the merits and facts of the case at this juncture, the Supreme Court has denied the application to stay the trial. The bench made it clear that the views passed by the High Court in its interim order would not have any impact on the disposal of the main petition which was moved to quash the FIR. By giving this direction, the Supreme Court has succeeded in leaving the entire analysis of the merits of the case and technicalities of the law to the Delhi High court and it is now expected to undertake the hearing of the plea in a hastened manner in regard to Yadav.
Waiver to show up that was given to Lalu Prasad Yadav takes into consideration his old age and health issues that give the veteran politician a little relief logistically. This does not however lessen the severity of the accusation and prosecution process he is to undergo. The fact that the Supreme Court refused to intervene with the progression of the trial supports the rule that legal processes should proceed before the court without unwarranted hindrances especially in offences that are conducted or carried out under suspicious circumstances of financial corruption.
The move by the Supreme Court raises an eye-opener regarding the follow-up investigations being done on current officials even after they have left office and the supposed malpractices committed in the course of their offices. The trial going on against Lalu Prasad Yadav has serious consequences to the RJD and to the political spectrum in general, particularly on the way things are going on the political front these days. The justice system now lies in the hands of the high court of Delhi since it moreover orderly approaches the breathes of its hearing on the expanded time span with everyone gazing to monitor the following development of the trial in the lower court since the judicial system proceeds its process in this high profile case. The road of the future holds more discussions in court and intensive investigation into the evidence tabled by research authorities.
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