Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav will appear before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on March 25 for questioning in connection with a case related to the alleged land-for-jobs scam. However, he will not be arrested this month, the agency ensured the Delhi High Court on Thursday.
The Delhi HC today heard a plea by Yadav seeking a stay on
CBI summons for his involvement in the land-for-jobs scam in Bihar.
Yadav's lawyer, senior advocate Maninder Singh, in court argued that if he appeared before the CBI he would be arrested. However, the agency's lawyer told Delhi's Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma that the agency was not planning to arrest
Yadav in March.
At this point in time, there is no endeavour to arrest him and he needs to appear as there are documents to be shown. Appearance through Video Conferencing won't serve the purpose, the CBI told the Delhi HC.
Following this assurance, Singh submitted to the court that his client would appear before the investigating officer at CBI headquarters in Delhi on March 25 at 10:30 am.
The high court disposed of Yadav's petition requesting the investigating officer to allow him some time as the current Bihar Assembly session will conclude on April 5.
He had also requested to appear in the CBI office in Patna or provide the required information or documents through his authorized representative in New Delhi.
A Delhi court yesterday granted bail to former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife and ex-Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi, their daughter and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Misa Bharti, and other accused in relation to the "land-for-job" case.
The case relates to alleged irregular appointments made in the railways in return for land parcels gifted or sold to Lalu Prasad Yadav's family when he was the railway minister between 2004 and 2009.
The CBI, in its chargesheet, has alleged that recruitment norms and procedures of the Indian Railways were violated during the appointments.
