NEW DELHI: Rashtriya Janata Dal chief and former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav has approached the Delhi High Court seeking the quashing of an FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the alleged ‘land-for-jobs’ scam.
The petition comes just days ahead of the scheduled commencement of charge framing in the trial court on June 2. Appearing for Yadav, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal argued that the CBI had failed to obtain the mandatory prior sanction required to investigate a public servant under the law.
Citing a Supreme Court ruling, Sibal said: “An inquiry cannot proceed without prior approval, which is a mandatory requirement.” He added that while such sanction was secured for other accused in the case, no approval was obtained in Yadav’s case, making the investigation legally unsustainable.
Given that arguments on the framing of charges are imminent, Yadav’s legal team requested the court to grant an interim order staying the trial proceedings until the High Court rules on the petition to quash the FIR. The request underscores concerns over proceeding with trial formalities while a core legal question remains unresolved.
The CBI, opposing Yadav’s petition, challenged its maintainability. It asserted that Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which mandates prior sanction for inquiry, did not apply in this case. However, the agency acknowledged that sanction under Section
