The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought response from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the petition filed by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav against the order framing of charges in the alleged IRCTC scam case.
Justice Swarn Kanta Sharma issued notice to the CBI to file its reply on Tejashwi’s plea and application for stay on the trial and posted the case for further hearing on January 14. On the same day, a similar petition of his father Lalu Prasad Yadav will also be heard.
The trial court had on October 13, 2025 framed charges against the accused persons – Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, son Tejashwi Yadav and 11 others under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act along with criminal conspiracy.
Tejashwi and former Railway Minister Lalu have moved the High Court challenging the lower court order in this case. The case pertains to alleged irregularities in awarding the operating contract of two hotels of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to a private company.
Apart from Lalu Yadav, the court had framed charges against Pradeep Kumar Goyal, Rakesh Saxena, Bhupendra Kumar Agarwal, Rakesh Kumar Gogia and Vinod Kumar Asthana under Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(d)(ii) and (iii) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Section 13(2) deals with punishment for criminal misconduct by a public servant, and Section 13(1) (d) (ii) and (iii) deal with abuse of office for favoritism by a public servant.
The court had directed framing of charges under section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against Lalu Prasad, Rabri Devi, Tejashwi, M/s Lara Projects LLP, Vijay Kochhar, Vinay Kochhar, Sarla Gupta and Prem Chand Gupta.
The court had said, ‘A common charge is directed to be framed against all (14) accused under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 IPC and sections 13(2) and 13(1)(d)(ii) and (iii) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.’
The maximum punishment under the Anti-Corruption Act is 10 years, while in case of fraud, the punishment can be up to seven years.
