Land-for-jobs case: Delhi High Court seeks CBI stand on Rabri Devi's plea over supply of unrelied documents

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday sought the CBI's stance on a plea by former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi challenging a trial court order that refused to provide her 1,600 unrelied documents in the land-for-jobs case.

Justice Manoj Jain issued notice on the plea and listed it for hearing on April 1.

On March 18, the trial court dismissed pleas by Rabri Devi and her husband, former railway minister and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, seeking the unrelied documents, saying that providing these documents en bloc would not only "place the cart before the horse" but also throw the judicial process into "complete disarray".

The duo claimed that the unrelied documents were necessary for cross-examination of witnesses and preparation for their defence in the trial.

Unrelied documents are materials seized by investigating agencies but not relied on in the chargesheet.

Similar applications by two other accused -- personal secretary (PS) of Lalu Prasad, R K Mahajan, seeking one unrelied document, and a former appointing authority, ex-general manager of railways, Maheep Kapoor, seeking 23 unrelied documents, were also dismissed by the trial court.

The land-for-jobs case relates to Group D appointments made in the West Central Zone of the Indian Railways based in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, during Lalu Prasad's tenure as the railway minister between 2004 and 2009 in return for land parcels gifted or transferred by the recruits in the name of the RJD supremo's family or associates, as per the CBI.

The case was registered on May 18, 2022, against Lalu Prasad and others, including his wife, two daughters, unidentified public officials and private persons.

In a scathing 35-page order, the trial court observed that its statutory control over the trial could not be "appropriated by the accused under the veneer of cross-examination" and that there seemed to be a "latent intent" by the applicants to drag proceedings.

The trial court said it needed to conduct the recording of evidence in consonance with statutory provisions to ensure the right to a fair trial and expeditious conclusion of proceedings.

It said various judicial precedents did not mandate providing the documents, as a matter of entitlement or right to the accused. They could not claim prejudice to their defence in the absence of these at the commencement of the trial, the court added.

The trial court noted that the accused had been previously granted an adequate opportunity to inspect the documents, which were part of the unrelied basket of evidence.

In its order, the court also highlighted the charges against Lalu Prasad that he allegedly abused his official position as the then railway minister to ensure appointments of certain persons to Group D posts in the Indian Railways.

In an alleged quid pro quo, the candidates so appointed, or their family members sold or gifted their respective land holdings to the family members of Lalu Prasad, and co-applicant Rabri Devi was one such member, the court said.

His then personal secretary, Mahajan, allegedly abused his official position, in conspiracy with him and others, to ensure many such appointments by communicating lists of nominees canvassed by Lalu Prasad with various general managers, including Kapoor, who were the appointing authority, it said.

On January 9, the court had ordered framing corruption charges against Lalu Prasad, his family members and others.

It has framed charges in the case against 41 accused persons and discharged 52 others. Out of the 103 accused named in the CBI's chargesheet, five have died.

The RJD leader's petition to quash the FIR by the CBI and the framing of charges in the case is pending in the high court.