New Delhi, Jul 23 (PTI) A Delhi court on Wednesday deferred to August 7 the order on framing of charges against former Bihar chief minister and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, his family members among other accused in an alleged case of irregularities in the IRCTC.
Special judge Vishal Gogne said, “Certain clarifications are required. List for the said purpose on August 7.” On May 29, the court reserved its order after the arguments were concluded on the aspect of charge.
Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi and son Tejashwi Yadav have refuted the allegations of the CBI.
The charges include criminal conspiracy and cheating, and carry a maximum jail term of seven years.
Their lawyer has argued the CBI lacked evidence to prosecute them.
Prasad, who was the railway minister during the UPA-I government, then questioned the validity of sanctions obtained by the CBI to prosecute him.
The agency on February 28, however, maintained presence of sufficient evidence to prosecute the accused.
The irregularities in the grant of operational contracts of two Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) hotels to a private firm were alleged by the investigation agency.
The CBI chargesheet alleged a conspiracy between 2004 and 2014 being hatched in pursuance of which BNR hotels of the Indian Railways located in Puri and Ranchi were first transferred to the IRCTC.
They were later leased to the Patna-based Sujata Hotels Private Limited for operations and maintenance.
The tender process, the CBI alleged, was rigged and manipulated and the conditions were tweaked to help the private party, Sujata Hotels.
The chargesheet also names former group general managers of IRCTC V K Asthana and R K Goyal, and Vijay Kochhar and Vinay Kochhar, both directors of Sujata Hotels and owners of Chanakya Hotel.
Delight Marketing Company, now known as Lara Projects, and Sujata Hotels have also been named as accused in the chargesheet. PTI MNR MNR AMK AMK
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