Supreme Court declines to quash CBI case against Lalu Prasad Yadav in land-for-jobs matter
The Facts
- The Supreme Court refused to quash the CBI FIR and related proceedings against Lalu Prasad Yadav in the alleged land-for-jobs case.
- The case was heard by a bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and N. Kotiswar Singh.
- The Supreme Court exempted Lalu Prasad Yadav from personal appearance before the trial court during the proceedings.
- The Supreme Court allowed Yadav to raise the issue of the applicability of Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act during the trial.
- The court left open the question of whether Section 17A applies prospectively or retrospectively instead of deciding it at this stage.
- The Delhi High Court had earlier refused to quash the CBI FIR in the case.
Context
What did the Supreme Court decide?
The court declined to quash the CBI FIR and charge sheets against Lalu Prasad Yadav, but it allowed him to raise his legal objections during trial and exempted him from appearing personally before the trial court Hindustan Times,MoneyControl,Hindu.
What is the Section 17A issue in this case?
Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act requires prior approval before police can inquire into or investigate certain alleged offences by a public servant. Yadav has argued that the CBI proceedings are invalid without such prior sanction, while the Supreme Court left that issue to be argued at trial Indian Express,ThePrint,Telegraph.
Why was the Supreme Court hearing this matter now?
Yadav had approached the Supreme Court after the Delhi High Court rejected his plea to quash the FIR and charge sheets in the land-for-jobs case bizzbuzz.news,Indian Express,India TV News.
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