New Delhi, Oct 7 The Delhi High Court has stayed an order directing framing of money laundering charges against Sujata Hotels, an accused in the IRCTC hotel scam case involving former railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and others.
Justice Sachin Datta issued notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on a petition by Sujata Hotels Pvt Ltd challenging a trial court's September 10 order.
The high court granted four weeks time to the probe agency to file its reply which should refer to the precise material supporting the involvement of the company in the concerned activity falling within the sweep of Section 3 (offence of money laundering) of the PMLA.
"Prima facie, the issue as to whether the acts of the directors can be
attributed to the company in the peculiar factual conspectus requires further consideration in the context of the above submissions," the court said in its October 5 order.
"Considering the circumstances, till the next date of hearing, the operation of the impugned order and further proceedings pursuant to it... shall be stayed insofar as they concern the petitioner herein," it added.
The court listed the matter for further hearing on December 3.
The prosecution's case concerns the award of contracts by IRCTC to
the petitioner (Sujata Hotels) for operating BNR Hotels at Ranchi and Puri.
It is alleged that the petitioner was involved in manipulation of the tender process and transfer of some land at an undervalued price to another company -- M/s DMCPL which is associated with the alleged beneficiaries as part of an unlawful arrangement.
The counsel appearing for the hotel contended that a company necessarily acts through individuals, and the acts of its directors may, therefore, be attributable to it where the material establishes such a connection.
However, the director's personal acts or liability cannot be automatically transferred to the company merely because they hold that office, he said.
It was submitted that the acts attributable to the company and their connection with an activity falling within the scope of Section 3 of the PMLA must be specifically identified.
According to the ED, from 2005 to 2014, under then railways minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, a tender for running IRCTC hotels in Ranchi and Puri was manipulated to favour Sujata Hotels.
It claimed that as quid pro quo, the directors of Sujata Hotels – Vinay Kochhar and Vijay Kochhar – transferred their prime land in Patna to Delight Marketing Company Pvt Ltd (DMCPL), a company controlled by Prem Chand Gupta and his wife Sarla Gupta, who were close associates of Lalu Prasad, at undervalued rates.
Sarla Gupta and others subsequently transferred the DMCPL shares to Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav at a pittance, with the entity later being renamed Lara Projects, the agency said.
Out of 16 accused arrayed by the ED, the trial court has discharged seven and ordered the framing of charges against nine.
The trial court is yet to formally frame charges against the accused.
It has already framed charges of corruption against the RJD patriarch and 11 others in October 2025 in the CBI case linked to the alleged scam.
