Overview

• Special Judge Vishal Gogne at the Rouse Avenue Court found sufficient grounds to proceed on cheating and criminal conspiracy charges, with corruption-related counts applied to Lalu Prasad Yadav.
• Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav pleaded not guilty in open court and the matter will move to a full criminal trial.
• The court said Lalu abused his position as Railway Minister by manipulating tender eligibility and conspiring for undervalued land transfers to entities linked to his family.
• The case centers on BNR hotels in Ranchi and Puri allegedly leased to Sujata Hotels through a rigged process, with land later routed to family-linked firms including Delight Marketing/Lara Projects.
• Other accused include former IRCTC officials V. K. Asthana and R. K. Goyal and Sujata Hotels directors Vijay and Vinay Kochhar, with the decision arriving weeks before the Bihar Assembly elections.