SC refuses to junk land-for-rail jobs FIR against Lalu

NEW DELHI: In a setback to Lalu Prasad, the Supreme Court connected Monday refused to quash FIR against him successful the land-for-jobs lawsuit but granted him exemption from quality earlier the proceedings tribunal and besides allowed him to rise the contented of request of authorisation during the trial. "We bash not accidental thing astir the contented pertaining to the exertion of Section 17A (of the Prevention of Corruption Act) connected whether it is prospective oregon retrospective. Taking into information the facts and the circumstances, liberty is granted to the petitioner to rise the ineligible contented astatine the clip of the trial," a seat of Justices M M Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh said. Opposing Lalu's plea, further solicitor wide S V Raju, appearing for CBI submitted that the Section 17A would beryllium invoked lone if the accused was a decision-making authority.

He said anterior support against him nether Section 17A was not required arsenic helium was neither the idiosyncratic who took the determination nor the recommending authority. Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act provides that nary enquiry oregon probe shall beryllium conducted by a constabulary serviceman into immoderate offence alleged to person been committed by a nationalist servant nether the instrumentality without anterior support from the due authority.

Senior advocator Kapil Sibal, appearing for Lalu, said that determination cannot beryllium immoderate probe until the authorities get the sanction. "At slightest a last bid whitethorn not beryllium passed. Other matters are pending connected the aforesaid contented and we don't get immoderate relief. This is not fair," helium said erstwhile the seat declined the relief. On March 24, Delhi HC refused to quash a CBI FIR successful the lawsuit involving Lalu.