2 months ago
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A Delhi tribunal has rejected the pleas of erstwhile Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and his woman Rabri Devi seeking implicit 1,600 unrelied documents to hole their defence successful the land-for-jobs lawsuit trial, saying they were designed to "condemn the proceedings to a maze astatine the precise outset."
Special Judge Vishal Gogne underlined that providing these documents en bloc would not lone "place the cart earlier the horse" but besides propulsion the judicial process into "complete disarray".
He besides dismissed the applications of 2 different accused — idiosyncratic caput (PS) of Lalu Prasad, R.K. Mahajan, seeking 1 unrelied document, and a erstwhile appointing authority, ex-general manager of railways, Maheep Kapoor, seeking 23 unrelied documents.
Unrelied documents are materials seized by investigating agencies but not relied connected successful the prosecution complaint.
The land-for-jobs lawsuit relates to Group D appointments made successful the West Central Zone of the Indian Railways successful Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, during Lalu Prasad's tenure arsenic the railway curate betwixt 2004 and 2009, successful instrumentality for onshore parcels talented oregon transferred by the recruits successful the names of the RJD supremo's household oregon associates, according to the CBI.
The lawsuit was registered connected May 18, 2022, against Lalu Prasad and others, including his wife, 2 daughters, unidentified nationalist officials and backstage persons.
In a scathing 35-page bid passed connected Wednesday, Judge Gogne stated that the court's statutory power implicit the proceedings could not beryllium "appropriated by the accused nether the veneer of cross-examination" and that determination seemed to beryllium a "latent intent" by the applicants to resistance proceedings.
The tribunal said it needed to behaviour the signaling of grounds successful consonance with statutory provisions to guarantee the close to a just proceedings and expeditious decision of proceedings.
The tribunal said the accused were asking that each oregon immoderate unrelied documents beryllium provided earlier they could adjacent contemplate the mentation of defence, meaning that the proviso of unrelied documents was being projected arsenic a information for the initiation of cross-examination.
It said, "While the mentation of cross-examination does surely entail projection of a defence (by mode of questions oregon suggestions), specified workout cannot beryllium held successful abeyance upon the self-serving supplication of the accused that they shall beryllium hampered successful preparing for cross-examination till they person the unrelied documents successful their possession."
Underlining that the pleas were "untenable", the tribunal said that the accused "cannot beryllium permitted to make a conditionality upon the continuation of judicial proceedings." It said assorted judicial precedents did not mandate providing the documents, arsenic a substance of entitlement oregon close to the accused. They could not assertion prejudice to their defence successful the lack of these astatine the commencement of the trial, the tribunal added.
The tribunal noted that the accused had been antecedently granted an capable accidental to inspect the documents, which were portion of the unrelied handbasket of evidence.
The tribunal said it does not find the accused to beryllium "flailing successful the dark", arsenic they are called upon to hole for cross-examination of prosecution witnesses.
According to the law, the proceedings had to beryllium conducted archetypal connected the grounds cited by the prosecution, which included documents relied upon, it said.
The tribunal said, "If the contentions of the accused are accepted, the model of trial, arsenic recognised successful the Code of Criminal Procedure (now the BNSS), would alteration from a relied upon (documents) template to an unrelied upon (documents) scenario." "The latent intent oregon astatine slightest effect of an en bloc proviso of unrelied documents to the accused would not lone spot the cart earlier the equine but besides propulsion the proceedings proceedings into implicit disarray," the tribunal added.
The tribunal highlighted that providing unrelied upon documents was "a sparing discretion" to beryllium exercised by it astatine the due signifier of proceedings and that specified discretion would beryllium governed by the necessity and desirability.
"The relied upon documents are lone 421, portion the unrelied-upon documents are 1,675. The tribunal finds the supplication for being provided with each unrelied documents to beryllium designed to condemn the proceedings to a maze astatine the precise outset, and that excessively erstwhile the accused person not adjacent begun to laic retired immoderate peculiar defence by mode of questions, suggestions oregon a projected defence," Judge Gogne said.
He said if the tribunal was to regularisation upon the relevance, necessity oregon desirability of the accumulation of hundreds, if not thousands, of unrelied documents adjacent earlier the witnesses uttered a azygous connection and adjacent earlier a azygous volley had been fired upon them during cross-examination, it would beryllium "drawn into expressing caput upon the relevance of unrelied documents lone to suit the defence." The justice besides said helium could consciousness a "latent" oregon "underlying intent" by the applicants to resistance proceedings into an workout wherever the proviso of 1,675 unrelied documents would conceivably beryllium followed by a plethora of applications seeking missing oregon illegible documents.
"A tribunal of proceedings indispensable defender against latent motives of applicants isolated from unreasonable outcomes," helium said.
Regarding Mahjan's plea, the justice said it was "entirely self-serving" for him to contend that cross-examination would beryllium hampered by the non-availability of a CBI file, which was not adjacent a relied upon document.
He said, "The tribunal would reiterate that the statutory strategy of proceedings cannot beryllium inverted truthful that proceedings crook into a proceedings of unrelied documents to the detriment of relied documents." In its order, the tribunal besides highlighted the charges against Lalu Prasad Yadav that helium allegedly abused his authoritative presumption arsenic the past Union railway curate to guarantee appointments of definite persons to Group D posts successful the Indian Railways.
In an alleged quid pro quo, the candidates truthful appointed oregon their household members sold oregon talented their respective onshore holdings to the household members of Lalu Prasad, and co-applicant Rabri Devi was 1 specified member, the tribunal said.
His past idiosyncratic secretary, Mahajan, allegedly abused his authoritative position, successful conspiracy with him and others, to guarantee galore specified appointments by communicating lists of nominees canvassed by Lalu Prasad with assorted wide managers, including Kapoor, who were the appointing authority, it said.
On January 9, the tribunal had ordered framing charges against RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, his household members and others.
It has framed charges successful the lawsuit against 41 accused persons and discharged 52 others. Out of the 103 accused named successful the CBI's chargesheet, 5 person died.
