Land-For-Jobs Case: Delhi Court Rejects Lalu, Rabri Plea For 1,600 Documents
Special judge Vishal Gogne underlined that providing all these documents at the same time would throw the judicial process into complete disarray.
Published : March 19, 2026 at 1:44 PM IST
|Updated : March 19, 2026 at 2:05 PM IST
New Delhi: A Delhi court has rejected the plea of former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and his wife Rabri Devi, seeking over 1,600 unrelied documents in the CBI's land-for-jobs case, observing that the request could disrupt the trial process.
Special judge Vishal Gogne said that allowing such a demand at this stage would be premature and could complicate proceedings. The court noted that providing the documents in bulk would "place the cart before the horse" and throw the trial into "complete disarray".
'Cannot Turn Trial Into Maze At Outset': Court
The court also dismissed similar applications filed by co-accused R K Mahajan, who sought one document, and former railway official Maheep Kapoor, who sought 23 documents.
In a detailed order, the judge termed the pleas "untenable" and said the accused "cannot be permitted to create a conditionality upon the continuation of judicial proceedings".
The court further observed that the demand for all unrelied documents appeared to be designed to "condemn the trial to a maze at the very outset".
It clarified that unrelied documents are materials collected during the investigation but not used by the prosecution. The court added that the accused had already been given an adequate opportunity to inspect these documents and was not "flailing in the dark" while preparing for cross-examination.
Case Linked To Alleged Jobs For Land During Railway Tenure
The case relates to alleged irregular appointments in the West Central Railway zone in Jabalpur between 2004 and 2009, during which Lalu Prasad served as railway minister. According to the CBI, jobs were allegedly given in exchange for land parcels transferred to the names of his family members and associates.
The court noted that the trial must proceed on the evidence relied upon by the prosecution and cannot be stalled by demands for additional documents before cross-examination begins.
The CBI had filed a chargesheet on October 7, 2022, against Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rabri Devi, Misa Bharti and others. The trial court took cognisance of the chargesheet on February 25, 2025, and formally framed charges against Lalu Prasad on February 16.
Earlier, on July 18, 2025, the Supreme Court refused to stay the trial proceedings. Rabri Devi’s plea seeking transfer of the case to another court was also dismissed by a district court in December.
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