Delhi court rejects Lalu Yadav’s plea for unrelied documents in land-for-jobs case

A Delhi court has dismissed applications by Lalu Prasad Yadav and his wife Rabri Devi seeking access to more than 1,600 unrelied documents in the ongoing land-for-jobs case, ruling that the move could disrupt the trial at an early stage.

Special Judge Vishal Gogne observed that granting the request in bulk would risk throwing the proceedings into “complete disarray” and effectively stall the judicial process.

The court also rejected similar pleas by other accused, including Lalu Prasad’s former personal secretary R.K. Mahajan and ex-railways general manager Maheep Kapoor, who had sought access to additional unrelied material.

Unrelied documents refer to evidence collected during an investigation but not used by the prosecution in its case. The court noted that supplying such material is not an automatic right and must be exercised sparingly, depending on necessity at an appropriate stage of the trial.

In a detailed order, the judge cautioned that the defence could not impose conditions on the progression of proceedings by insisting on access to these documents before beginning cross-examination of witnesses. He added that such a demand appeared designed to delay the trial rather than aid a fair defence.

The court emphasised that the legal framework requires the trial to proceed on the basis of evidence relied upon by the prosecution, with cross-examination forming part of that process. Accepting the accused’s argument, it said, would effectively invert this structure and shift the focus to documents not central to the prosecution’s case.

It further observed that the accused had already been given adequate opportunity to inspect the unrelied material and could not claim to be disadvantaged at this stage. The judge remarked that the defence was not “flailing in the dark” and was in a position to begin cross-examination.

The case, investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation, relates to alleged irregular appointments to Group D posts in the Indian Railways between 2004 and 2009, when Lalu Prasad served as Union railway minister.

According to the agency, the appointments were made in exchange for land parcels transferred by candidates or their relatives to members of the former minister’s family or associates.

The court has already framed charges against Lalu Prasad, Rabri Devi and several others, alleging abuse of official position and criminal conspiracy. In total, charges have been framed against 41 individuals, while 52 have been discharged from the case.

The judge underlined that allowing a wholesale review of unrelied documents before the trial has meaningfully progressed would burden the court with assessing the relevance of hundreds of records prematurely, potentially prolonging proceedings unnecessarily.

The trial will now continue with the examination of prosecution witnesses in accordance with established legal procedure.

With PTI inputs