Court to consider chargesheet against Lalu, Rabri on September 11

A Delhi court will on September 11 consider the Enforcement Directorate's chargesheet against former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, son Tejashwi Yadav and several others in a money laundering case linked to the alleged irregularities in the 2006 IRCTC hotel contracts.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed the chargesheet on Friday before Special Judge Arvind Kumar. The court is scheduled to examine the prosecution's case and the chargesheet on September 11.

The case relates to the alleged award of maintenance contracts for two Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) hotels in Ranchi and Puri in 2006. Investigators have alleged that the contracts were awarded to a private company in return for an illegal benefit involving a three-acre commercial property at a prime location in Patna district.

Besides Lalu Prasad, Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav, the ED has named former RJD leader and then Railway Minister's associate P.C. Gupta, his wife Sarla Gupta, Lara Projects and 10 other individuals and entities as accused.

The accused have been booked under various provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), with the ED's case based on the alleged financial transactions and property dealings connected to the hotel contracts.

The matter had earlier been investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which filed its own chargesheet in April against 12 individuals and two companies in connection with the alleged irregularities.

The case is part of the wider legal proceedings faced by members of the Lalu Prasad family over alleged corruption and financial irregularities. The latest court proceedings will determine the next stage of the ED's money laundering case.