New Delhi, 13 December (Udaipur Kiran) – The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has opposed the plea filed by former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi seeking transfer of her and her family members’ pending cases related to railway tender and land-for-job scams to another judge. The opposition was presented in the Rouse Avenue Court, where the CBI accused Rabri Devi of trying to undermine the judge handling the cases.
During the hearing on Saturday, CBI counsel D.P. Singh argued that the petitioner filed the plea to demean the presiding judge. He stated that Rabri Devi was making baseless allegations against the judiciary, while Judge Vishal Gogane was following all legal procedures. Singh added that Rabri Devi sought to disrupt the court’s functioning and cannot decide which judge should hear the case.
Earlier, Rabri Devi’s lawyer claimed that Judge Vishal Gogane was not following proper procedures and intended to deliver a verdict in 2026. The lawyer also alleged that during the Bihar Assembly elections, the judge had summoned the petitioner to court while framing charges.
Rabri Devi’s plea requested transfer of four cases pending before Judge Vishal Gogane to another judge, alleging bias and pre-planned conduct in handling the cases against her and her family members. The cases include the railway tender scam and land-for-job scam. On 13 October, Judge Gogane framed charges against Rabri Devi, Lalu Yadav, and Tejashwi Yadav in the railway tender scam case.
The plea stated that Judge Gogane was hearing the cases with a fixed mindset and appeared to be assisting the prosecution, failing to act impartially. Therefore, Rabri Devi sought an independent trial by transferring the cases to a different judge.
On 13 October, the court framed charges against Lalu Yadav, Rabri Devi, and Tejashwi Yadav under sections 428, 120B of the Indian Penal Code, and section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The accused pleaded not guilty and agreed to face trial.
On 28 February, the CBI stated it had strong evidence to prosecute the accused in the railway tender scam. Earlier, on 28 January 2019, the court granted regular bail to Lalu Yadav, Rabri Devi, and Tejashwi Yadav in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case, with a personal bond of one lakh rupees each. Lalu Yadav had also received regular bail in the CBI case on 19 January 2019.
The court had taken cognizance of the ED’s charge sheet on 17 September 2018. The case names several accused, including Lalu Prasad, Rabri Devi, Tejashwi Yadav, Lara Project LLP, Sarla Gupta, Premchand Gupta, Gaurav Gupta, Nath Mal Kakrania, Rahul Yadav, Vijay Tripathi, Devki Nandan Tulsiyan, Sujata Hotel, Vinay Kochar, Vijay Kochar, Rajiv Kumar Relan, and Abhishek Finance Private Limited.
(Udaipur Kiran)
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