Former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi has filed a plea before the Principal District and Sessions Judge of the Rouse Avenue Courts to transfer four cases from the judge who framed charges against her and her family members in the alleged IRCTC scam case.
She has sought the transfer of four cases pending before Judge Gogne. These include the IRCTC scam case and the alleged cash-for-jobs case, and the money laundering proceedings associated with them.
On October 13, Judge Gogne had framed criminal charges against Lalu Yadav, Rabri Devi, Tejashwi Yadav and several others in the IRCTC case.
Rabri Devi has accused the judge of being biased and stated that he is conducting the trials against her and her family members with a premeditated mind. According to her plea, the judge is “unduly inclined” towards the prosecution.
“That the conduct of the Ld. Special Judge, on various occasions during the course of proceedings in all the above mentioned cases, appears to be unduly inclined towards the prosecution and bias which can be seen from a number of instances of the case proceedings/orders itself, which has created a reasonable apprehension of bias in the mind of the Applicant and in the interest of just, equity and fair play the cases needs to be transferred to some other court of the competent jurisdiction,” said the petition, adding, the judge’s conduct affects the neutrality expected from him and has created a “reasonable likelihood of bias” in Devi’s mind.
“The said apprehension is not based on speculations or imagination but on specific instances which have occurred during the proceedings of the cases pending before the Ld. Special Judge wherein the Applicant is an accused,” said the petition. Senior Advocate Maninder Singh appeared for Devi on Monday and informed Judge Gogne that an application had been filed and it is likely to be heard soon.
In the IRCTC case, the CBI has alleged that Lalu Yadav and his family accepted prime land and shares as a bribe for awarding contracts to a private firm when he was the Union Railway Minister.
The Court framed charges against the Yadav family. Meanwhile, in the cash-for-jobs case, the allegation is that during Lalu Yadav’s tenure as Union Railway Minister, various residents of Bihar were given jobs after they transferred their land to Yadav and his family members.
The ED is prosecuting Yadav and his family members for alleged money laundering in the cases.
