Delhi High Court Declines to Stay IRCTC Scam Trial Against Lalu, Tejashwi Yadav

New Delhi, Jan 2026 : The Delhi High Court on Wednesday declined to stay the ongoing trial in the IRCTC scam case involving Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and his son, former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, allowing proceedings before the trial court to continue.

A bench presided over by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma made it clear that there would be no interim relief at this stage, even as petitions filed by the father-son duo challenging the framing of charges are pending before the High Court. However, the court offered limited procedural relief by indicating that the cross-examination of prosecution witnesses could be deferred to the “next-to-next” week, by which time the High Court is expected to rule on the pending petitions.

During the hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Lalu Prasad Yadav, submitted that the matter had been listed specifically to consider whether the trial should be stayed until the High Court decides the challenge to the charges. He argued that once the examination-in-chief of witnesses is concluded, the trial would automatically move to cross-examination, which could prejudice the accused if the charges are later set aside.

Justice Sharma, however, firmly declined to halt the proceedings, stating, “Let the examination-in-chief be done. I am not giving them a stay.” At the same time, she directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) not to insist on immediate cross-examination of witnesses and clarified that the petitions challenging the framing of charges would be decided next week.

The case relates to alleged irregularities in the award of tenders and management of railway hotels during Lalu Prasad Yadav’s tenure as Union Railway Minister. On October 13, 2025, the trial court framed charges against Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi, Tejashwi Yadav, and 11 other accused. The charges include offences of cheating and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), along with violations of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PC Act).

In its order, the trial court had observed that the land and share transactions at the heart of the case appeared to be “possibly an instance of crony capitalism”, allegedly carried out under the pretext of private participation in the development and maintenance of railway hotels in Ranchi and Puri.

In his petition before the High Court, Lalu Prasad Yadav contended that the chargesheet does not disclose any incriminating material against him. He argued that the CBI failed to place on record documentary or oral evidence, witness statements, or circumstantial proof establishing a criminal conspiracy.

Apart from members of the Yadav family, charges have also been framed against Pradeep Kumar Goel, Rakesh Saksena, Bhupendra Kumar Agarwal, Rakesh Kumar Gogia, and Vinod Kumar Asthana under Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(d)(ii) and (iii) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which deals with criminal misconduct and abuse of official position by public servants.

Additionally, charges under IPC Section 420 (cheating) were framed against Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rabri Devi, Tejashwi Yadav, M/s LARA Projects LLP, Vijay Kochhar, Vinay Kochhar, Sarla Gupta, and Prem Chand Gupta. A common charge of criminal conspiracy under Section 120B IPC has been framed against all 14 accused.

Under the Prevention of Corruption Act, criminal misconduct attracts a maximum punishment of 10 years’ imprisonment, while cheating under the IPC is punishable with up to seven years in jail.

(The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)