Lalu Prasad's IRCTC Scam: Key Details and Other Pending Cases

A Delhi court on Monday framed charges of corruption, criminal conspiracy, and cheating against Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav in the alleged Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) scam, marking a significant escalation in the long-running probe. The Rouse Avenue Court, presided over by Special Judge Vishal Gogne, also indicted Yadav's wife, former Chief Minister Rabri Devi, and their son Tejashwi Yadav on counts of conspiracy and cheating, alongside 11 others, including IRCTC officials and private entities.

The development, coming less than a month before Bihar's assembly elections on November 6 and 11, has intensified political scrutiny on the Yadav family, with the opposition Mahagathbandhan—led by RJD—positioning Tejashwi as its chief ministerial candidate against the BJP-led NDA. All accused pleaded not guilty and will now face trial, with the court observing prima facie evidence of Yadav abusing his position as Union Railways Minister from 2004 to 2009 to manipulate tenders for two IRCTC hotels in Puri and Ranchi.

The IRCTC case, investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) since 2017, alleges a quid pro quo where Yadav favored Sujata Hotels Pvt Ltd—owned by brothers Vijay and Vinay Kochhar—by altering eligibility criteria for hotel maintenance contracts worth crores in exchange for undervalued land parcels in Patna transferred to family-linked firms like Delight Marketing Company (later Lara Projects). The CBI claims the land, valued at over ₹1 crore per decimal but acquired for a fraction, caused wrongful loss to the public exchequer, embodying "crony capitalism."

Rabri Devi and Tejashwi, then minors or young adults, are accused of facilitating share acquisitions in these entities at nominal rates, enabling the family's indirect control. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is separately probing money laundering angles, attaching assets worth ₹10 crore in 2023. Yadav's counsel dismissed the charges as politically motivated, timed to derail the Bihar campaign, while BJP leaders seized the opportunity to label the family "corruption incarnate."

Yadav's legal entanglements extend far beyond IRCTC, with the infamous fodder scam—unveiled in 1996—remaining his most notorious brush with the law. Spanning five cases involving fraudulent withdrawals of nearly ₹950 crore from Bihar's animal husbandry treasuries between 1991 and 1996, the scam forced Yadav's resignation as chief minister and implicated officials in fabricating livestock records for fictitious fodder procurement. Convicted in all five by 2022, he received sentences totalling over 14 years and fines exceeding ₹60 lakh but remains on bail across them due to health grounds and time served, with appeals pending in the Jharkhand High Court. In July 2025, the CBI sought harsher penalties in one case, arguing Yadav was the "prime conspirator," a plea the court admitted amid ongoing recovery efforts for siphoned funds. The scandal, probed by CBI since 1996, symbolizes systemic graft in undivided Bihar and continues to haunt RJD's image.

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Equally damning is the land-for-jobs scam, where Yadav allegedly traded Group D railway appointments in Jabalpur's West Central Zone (2004-2009) for land gifts to his family, often from illiterate or unqualified candidates at 20-25% of market value—totalling parcels worth ₹600 crore per ED estimates. The CBI filed an FIR in May 2022 against Yadav, Rabri, Tejashwi, Tej Pratap, and daughters Misa Bharti and Hema Yadav, plus officials; a second charge sheet in 2023 named 17 more.

President Droupadi Murmu sanctioned prosecution in 2024, and by February 2025, the court summoned the family, granting bail to Tej Pratap and Hema in March. The Supreme Court rejected a trial stay in July 2025, with proceedings ongoing despite Yadav's quash petition in the Delhi High Court. ED's parallel probe has summoned Yadav multiple times, underscoring family-wide involvement.

These cases, alongside fleeting probes like a 2017 coal allocation scam where Yadav faced trial but no conviction by 2025, paint a picture of persistent allegations shadowing Yadav's four-decade career—from youngest Bihar CM in 1978 to UPA kingmaker. As Bihar voters weigh development against dynasty claims, the scandals could erode RJD's rural base, though supporters decry them as BJP vendettas. With trials advancing, Yadav's resilience—bolstered by medical bail—will be tested anew, potentially reshaping the state's polarized polls.

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