New Delhi, Oct 29 The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought the stand of the Enforcement Directorate on a petition by former railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav challenging a trial court order on framing of money laundering charges against him in the case relating to the alleged IRCTC hotel scam.
Justice Sachin Datta issued notice to the probe agency on Yadav's petition assailing the trial court's September 10 order and listed the matter for hearing on December 3.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) case arises from the CBI’s FIR, which has alleged that Yadav entered into a criminal conspiracy with the owner of Sujata Hotels, Sarla Gupta, wife of his close associate Prem Chand Gupta, a Rashtriya Janata Dal MP in the Rajya Sabha, and IRCTC officials for "undue pecuniary advantage to himself and others" between 2004 and 2014.
In his petition, Yadav said the trial court passed the order on framing of money laundering charges merely because charges had been framed against him in the scheduled offence, despite it being a matter of record that the RJD leader was "never involved in any process or activity connected with the alleged proceeds of crime".
The trial court's order is ex-facie perverse and unsustainable in law, the petition contended, as it emphasised that Yadav was never summoned by the ED for the purpose of investigation, which reflected that he was never involved in activity connected with the alleged proceeds of crime.
On September 10, the trial court had ordered framing of money laundering charges against Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, son Tejashwi Yadav and six others in the case, stating that the ED's allegations, spanning from 2005 to 2014, strongly indicated that, under the stewardship of Yadav, a tender was manipulated by railway officials for the award of the lease of radio hotels at Ranchi and Puli to Sujata Hotels.
Out of 16 accused, the trial judge had discharged seven.
The trial court had already framed charges of corruption against the RJD patriarch and 11 others in October last year in the CBI case in the alleged scam.
