Delhi Court granted interim bail to Former Bihar Chief Minister and Lalu Yadav's wife Rabri Devi and his daughters Misa Bharti and Hema Yadav in connection with the Land-for-Jobs scam case till February 28. They had arrived before the Rouse Avenue Court for further trial regarding the alleged scam.
Advocate Maninder Singh, representing the accused, stated that they had filed their bail applications, asserting their entitlement to it on the grounds that they had not been arrested during the trial. "...They had submitted their bail applications which were argued. Keeping in view the parameters of Satender Antil passed by the SC, we had said that the three were entitled to bail because they were not arrested during the trial... The next hearing will be held on 28th February after they file the reply to the bail applications... These were the first summons issued to the accused and they appeared after the first summons... Rs 1 lakh has been paid as surety bond and personal bond," Singh said.
What is the land-for-jobs scam?
The central agency initiated the investigation based on an FIR registered by CBI which alleged that the RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav who was the Railway Minister at the time, was involved in corruption while appointing Group D substitutes in Indian Railways during 2004-2009.
According to a statement of the Directorate of ED, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court had earlier issued notices against Hema Yadav, Misa Bharti, Amit Katyal, Rabri Devi, and Hridyanand Chaudhary, to appear for further trial in the alleged land-for-jobs scam on February 9.
This was regarding a prosecution complaint filed by ED on January 1 under the provisions of the PMLA Act 2002 against Lalu's kin, Amit Katyal- a businessman with alleged ties to Lalu's family members, Hridyanand Chaudhary- a former employee at Rari Devi's Gaushala who was accused of acquiring property from one of the candidates along with two companies A B Exports Pvt. Ltd. and A K Infosystems Pvt. Ltd., in the alleged scam.
As per ED, A K Infosystem was a company formed by Amit Katyal to deliver IT data analytics services. However, instead of that the company allegedly bought several land parcels, one of which pertained to the land for job offence, reported ANI.
According to CBI, Lalu had obtained land in the name of his family members in exchange for jobs in Group D posts in various railway zones. Several people residing in Patna had also sold their land in Patna in favour of Lalu's kin and a private company, controlled by his family members, which acquired properties in the name of Lalu's family.
On January 19, the central investigative agency issued fresh summons to Lalu Yadav and his son Tejashwi Yadav. The Enforcement Directorate physically delivered the notification to the residence of Lalu Yadav's wife and former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi in Patna. The summons required both RJD leaders to present themselves on January 29 and 30. Subsequently, ED officials arrived at the RJD chief's house in Patna to examine him regarding the case.