Delhi court trashes Rabri Devi’s pleas to transfer corruption, ED cases

New Delhi, Dec 19 In a setback to former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi and other members of the Lalu Prasad Yadav family, a Delhi court on Friday rejected pleas seeking transfer of multiple corruption and money-laundering cases from the court of Special Judge Vishal Gogne.

Principal District and Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge (PC Act) Dinesh Bhatt of the Rouse Avenue Courts dismissed four transfer petitions filed by Rabri Devi, which pertained to the IRCTC hotel scam case, the CBI’s land-for-jobs case, and two connected money-laundering prosecutions being pursued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

With the rejection of the transfer pleas, all the criminal cases against Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rabri Devi, Tejashwi Yadav and other family members will continue to be heard by Special Judge Vishal Gogne.

Rabri Devi had approached the district judge seeking transfer of the cases on the ground that the conduct of the trial Judge Gogne, had created a “reasonable apprehension of bias” in her mind. She alleged that the judge was “unduly inclined towards the prosecution” and was proceeding against her and her family members with a premeditated mindset.

The transfer pleas were supported by other accused persons, including members of the Yadav family, who contended that the cases against them were being taken up with unusual frequency and haste.

Appearing for Rabri Devi, senior advocate Maninder Singh submitted that although nearly 29 cases were pending before Judge Gogne, none were being heard in such a “hasty manner” as the four matters involving the former Chief Minister and her family. He added that between January 1, 2025, and December 14, 2025, the four cases had been listed on 117, 70, 50 and 28 occasions, respectively.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the ED strongly opposed the transfer pleas, terming them an attempt to “demean the judge” and “bulldoze the courts”.

Special Public Prosecutor D.P. Singh, appearing for the CBI, argued that the allegations of bias were false and defamatory, and that Judge Gogne was only following the procedure established by law and by his predecessors.

Earlier, the district judge had sought responses from both central agencies and also requested comments from Judge Gogne, who submitted his reply in a sealed cover.

The IRCTC hotel scam case relates to alleged irregularities in the lease of IRCTC hotels between 2004 and 2009, when Lalu Prasad was the Union Railway Minister. Charges under Sections 420 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act were ordered to be framed in the case last month.

In the land-for-jobs case, the CBI has alleged that candidates seeking Group-D posts in the Railways transferred land to members of Lalu Prasad’s family or benami entities in exchange for employment.

Earlier in the day, the Rouse Avenue Courts reserved its order on the framing of charges in the case. In parallel, the ED is probing the money-laundering angle, claiming that the transactions generated proceeds of crime, which were subsequently laundered through multiple entities.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor