IRCTC Money Laundering Case: Delhi Court Defers Framing Of Charges Against Lalu Yadav, Eight Others
Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court deferred its decision on framing charges against Lalu Yadav, his family in the IRCTC hotel scam.
Published : October 3, 2026 at 6:02 PM IST
New Delhi: Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court on Saturday deferred its decision on framing charges against the former Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, son Tejashwi Yadav and six others in the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) case regarding the alleged IRCTC hotel scam.
Special Judge Prashant Kumar ordered the next hearing to be held on October 30, following the court’s previous decision to reserve its order on February 13. The orders came after the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo, his wife Rabri and son Tejashwi appeared before the court during the hearing of the case.
The judge asked the central agency to seek instructions based on the order of the predecessor court. Out of 16 accused arrayed by the ED, the predecessor court on September 10 discharged seven and ordered the framing of charges against nine. It had posted the matter for formal framing of charges on October 3.
Earlier, the predecessor court said there was a strong suspicion against the accused, and the nature, timing, and course of the investigation do not indicate that the complaint was motivated by a political vendetta against Lalu Prasad, as his counsel argued.
It already framed charges of corruption against the RJD patriarch and 11 others last October in the CBI case in the alleged scam.
According to the ED, from 2005 to 2014, under then-railways minister Lalu Prasad, 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 DMPL shares to Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav at a pittance, with the entity later being renamed Lara Projects, it said.
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