The Delhi High Court on Monday declined to grant an immediate stay on the trial proceedings against former railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav in the high-profile Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) hotel allotment scam case. The court has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to submit its reply to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief's petition and scheduled the next hearing for January 14, 2025.
Court Seeks CBI's Stand Before Any Decision
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, presiding over the case, stated that the court could not pass an order on the stay application without hearing the prosecuting agency or examining its official response. The bench issued a formal notice to the CBI on Lalu Prasad's petition, which challenges the trial court order that framed charges against him. The court also called for the complete record from the trial court to proceed with the matter.
During the brief hearing, senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Maninder Singh, representing the former railway minister, pressed for a stay on the ongoing trial court proceedings. In response, Justice Sharma remarked, "Let them file a reply. You should have come earlier, you didn't come," indicating a reluctance to grant interim relief without the CBI's stance on record. The court clarified it would consider the stay application on January 14 after the agency files its reply. The CBI counsel, present in court, requested and was granted time to submit their response.
Charges Framed in the IRCTC Hotel Scam Case
The case revolves around alleged serious irregularities in the grant of operational contracts for two IRCTC-owned hotels to a private company. On October 13, 2025, a trial court in Delhi formally framed charges against a group of accused individuals. This list includes Lalu Prasad, his wife and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi, their son and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, along with 11 other individuals and entities.
The charges framed are for alleged offences of cheating and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code, coupled with relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Specifically, the trial court directed that a charge under IPC Section 420 (cheating) be framed against Lalu, Rabri, Tejashwi, M/s Lara Projects LLP, Vijay Kochhar, Vinay Kochhar, former Union minister Prem Chand Gupta, and his wife Sarla Gupta.
Allegations of a Decade-Long Conspiracy
According to the CBI's chargesheet, a conspiracy was allegedly hatched between 2004 and 2014. The agency claims that two railway hotels located in Puri (Odisha) and Ranchi (Jharkhand) were first transferred to the IRCTC and were later leased out for operations, maintenance, and upkeep to Sujata Hotels Private Limited based in Patna.
The CBI has alleged that the tender process was rigged and manipulated, with conditions tweaked to unduly benefit Sujata Hotels. Other individuals named in the chargesheet include former IRCTC group general managers V K Asthana and R K Goyal, and directors of Sujata Hotels, Vijay Kochhar and Vinay Kochhar, who are also owners of Chanakya Hotel in Patna. The accused firms are Delight Marketing Company (now known as Lara Projects) and Sujata Hotels Private Limited.
The Delhi High Court's decision to seek the CBI's response before considering a stay underscores the legal complexities of the case. All eyes are now on the agency's reply and the subsequent hearing scheduled for mid-January, which will determine the immediate future course of this politically significant trial.
