Special Court frames PMLA charges against Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rabri Devi, Tejashwi Yadav

A special court at Delhi's Rouse Avenue has ordered charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act against former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, son Tejashwi Yadav and six others in a two-decade-old case linking railway hotel contracts to a prime land parcel in Patna. Special Judge Vishal Gogne directed charges under Sections 3 and 4 of the PMLA against nine of the 16 accused named by the Enforcement Directorate.

Those going on trial include Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rabri Devi, Tejashwi Yadav, former Union Minister Prem Chand Gupta, his wife Sarla Gupta, Lara Projects LLP (formerly Delight Marketing Company), Sujata Hotels, and directors Vinay Kochhar and Vijay Kochhar. Seven other individuals have been discharged, and formal charges are set for 3 October.

The ED case is based on an FIR filed by the CBI under the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act. It is claimed that while Lalu was in charge of the Railways from 2004 to 2009, officials altered the tender procedure so that the operation and maintenance of two BNR hotels in Ranchi and Puri could take place.

The contracts were awarded to Sujata Hotels, run by the Kochhar brothers. According to the prosecutors, this amounted to a quid pro quo, since approximately three acres of commercially valuable land in Patna were transferred in February 2005 by means of several sale deeds to Delight Marketing, a company associated with Sarla Gupta, for about Rs 1.47 crore, an amount much lower than the prevailing market and circle rates.

The company and the land were afterwards transferred, at nominal value, to Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav, after which the organisation was called Lara Projects LLP. The court expressed a strong suspicion that the family still benefits from this 'tainted land'. The judge noted that certain deals were concluded in full view of the public, with official procedures acting as a cover rather than a means of examination. He dismissed the defence's assertion of a political vendetta, on the ground that the nature, timing and course of the investigation did not support that claim.

At the stage of charge-framing, he pointed out that the court had to establish only strong suspicion, not proof of 'mens rea' beyond doubt. The ED has seized properties worth approximately Rs 44.75 crore, a sum which the adjudicating authority has confirmed. The agency's complaint, filed in 2018, concerns land in Patna as proceeds of crime obtained through the alleged misuse of official position and then hidden through holdings in companies.

This PMLA proceeding is going on alongside the CBI's predicate corruption case, in which charges were previously framed against Lalu and others.

Both investigations focus on the same main transactions: the hotel leases and the later transfer of the Patna property to family members and associates. The accused have consistently denied any wrongdoing. The case has moved slowly, beginning with transactions in 2005 and 2006; then the CBI registered the case in 2017 and 2018. The ED's attachment of assets followed this, the filing of the prosecution complaint, and finally the current order.

The next date on the list is 3 October, on which the court will formally read the charges.