Delhi Court Quotes Tagore While Framing Charges Against Lalu Prasad Yadav

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New Delhi: Special Judge (MP-MLA cases) on Thursday framed charges against Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and others in the LARA Projects Money laundering case; at the same time, he quoted Guru Rabindranath Tagore for stressing the moral brakes in politics.

The court began the order on charges with the saying of Gurudev, who had said, “Whenever power removes all checks from its path to make its career easy, it triumphantly rides into its ultimate crash of death. Its moral brake becomes slacker every day without its knowing it, and its slippery path of ease becomes its path of doom.”

Special Judge Vishal Gogne (now transferred) directed to frame charges against 9 accused out of 16 charge-sheeted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Senior advocate Maninder Singh alongwith Navin Kumar, Varun Kumar and Ekta Vats appeared for Lalu Prasad Yadav.

The court said that Tagore held the moral compass for the Indian Freedom Movement.

“His word often bestowed cohesion in times of prevarication among the balladeers of freedom. Even after a century across, the pearls of wisdom from the sage, poet and philosopher guide the institutions meant to serve the fruits of generational sacrifice.”

“As a court of criminal jurisdiction and being seized with matters concerning elected representatives, this court finds immense guidance from these prophetic words, even at the preliminary, yet crucial, stage of charge against multiple Members of Parliament, former Chief Ministers and Ministers who stand arrayed, with others, as accused in the present

proceedings,” Special Judge said in the order.

The court noted that ED alleged that Lalu Prasad Yadav, during his tenure as the Union Minister for Railways, fixed a tender for IRCTC Hotels in Ranchi and Puri in favour of his preferred bidders and unabashedly received the land parcels of the successful bidder through his wife (Rabri Devi) and son (Tejashwi Prasad Yadav).

The land parcels were first bought at vastly undervalued rates by a company of his associate (former Union Minister PC Gupta) and subsequently the shares of this company were sold at a pittance to Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, the court noted.

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The court highlighted that before deciding the issue of charges, “The court must determine whether all checks from the path of power were indeed unhinged by Lalu Prasad Yadav in order to create, use and project as untainted what allegedly was the unearned perk of the path of ease.”

“Calibrating the discourse to intellect far less capable than the great bard, the exercise for this court is to find whether a strong suspicion exists that the former Minister of Railways, his family members and other persons/entities indulged in any process or activity connected with the proceeds of crime. The land at Patna is described as the proceeds of crime by the ED,” the court stressed.

The court said that the allegations by the ED, spanning the years 2005 to 2014, strongly indicate that under the stewardship of Lalu Prasad Yadav, then Minister of Railways, a tender came to be manipulated by railway officials for award of the contract of Railway hotels at Ranchi and Puri to Sujata Hotels.

As a quid pro quo, the Directors of Sujata Hotels, namely Vinay Kochhar and Vinay Kochhar, transferred their prime land at Patna to a company named DMCPL which was controlled by PC Gupta and his wife Sarla Gupta (close associates of Lalu Prasad Yadav) at undervalued rates, the court said.

Sarla Gupta and others subsequently transferred the shares of this company to Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Prasad Yadav at a pittance. The new entity which controls this virtually freebie land is Lara Projects LLP, the court added.

“There exists a strong suspicion that the abuse of office by Lalu Prasad Yadav created the proceeds of crime in the hands of his wife Rabri Devi and son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav who continue to enjoy the use of this tainted land at a prized commercial avenue in Patna,” the Court said.

The court said that the land at Patna is the proceeds of crime and the charge of money laundering is liable to be framed against Lara Project LLP, Rabri Devi, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Sarla Gupta, Prem Chand Gupta, Sujata Hotels, Vinay Kochhar and Vijay Kochhar.

The court directed to frame charges against accused under Section 4 read with Section 3 of the PMLA.

(ANI)

Also Read: SC issues notice on plea challenging closure of 17 Delhi Metro stations during CJP protests

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