Land-for-Job Scam: Court Clears Prosecution of Former IAS Officer R K Mahajan; Next Hearing on February 7

New Delhi/ Patna: A Delhi court has granted permission to prosecute two officials in the Land-for-Jobs case, including former IAS officer RK Mahajan, who served in the Railway Board during Lalu Prasad’s tenure as railway minister. The hearing took place on Thursday at Rouse Avenue Court, New Delhi, with Special Public Prosecutor DP Singh appearing via video conferencing and advocate Manu Mishra present in person. The next hearing is scheduled for February 7.

The case has seen multiple delays, with the previous hearing on January 16 being postponed. Earlier, on December 23, proceedings were also deferred due to the lack of prosecution approval for a railway official.

Five members of Lalu Prasad Yadav’s family—Rabri Devi, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, Misa Bharti, and Hema Yadav—are among the accused. On October 7, last year, the court granted bail to all nine accused, including members of the Yadav family, on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh each and ordered them to surrender their passports.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has been actively investigating the case, questioning Lalu Prasad and his son Tejashwi Yadav for hours in January. On January 20, ED officials interrogated Lalu in Delhi and Patna for over 10 hours, with sources claiming he mostly responded in monosyllables and showed signs of irritation. Tejashwi was questioned for nearly 11 hours on 30 January as part of the ongoing probe.