New Delhi, Jan 14 (NationPress) The Delhi High Court has adjourned, until January 19, the proceedings concerning the petitions submitted by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad Yadav and his son Tejashwi Yadav, who are contesting a trial court's directive to frame charges against them in the alleged IRCTC hotel scam case.

While rescheduling both petitions for further discussions next week, the Delhi High Court also decided against halting the trial court's proceedings at this time.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Lalu Prasad Yadav, argued that the charge sheet was submitted before the appropriate sanction for prosecution was granted. He also pointed out that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) neglected to investigate two private transactions that were unrelated to the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act.

Sibal asserted that the alleged transactions were conducted according to government policy and should not be classified as an offence under the PC Act.

He highlighted that the trial court was conducting daily hearings in this case, a practice not typically observed in similar situations.

On January 6, the Delhi High Court had issued a notice to the CBI regarding Tejashwi Yadav's plea, challenging the trial court's ruling after his legal counsel pointed out that a similar petition from Lalu Prasad Yadav was already scheduled for January 14.

Considering these arguments, the court ordered that both petitions be heard simultaneously.

Tejashwi Yadav has challenged the decision made by the Rouse Avenue Court, which found sufficient grounds to proceed against him and other defendants for offences related to corruption, criminal conspiracy, and cheating concerning the IRCTC scam.

On October 13, 2025, Special Judge Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Courts authorized the trial of Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, his son Tejashwi Yadav, and other defendants under Sections 420 (cheating) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), as well as the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, after they asserted their innocence.

The special court had reserved its ruling on May 29 following extensive arguments regarding the framing of charges against Lalu Prasad Yadav, his family, Prem Gupta, Sarla Gupta, and railway officials Rakesh Saksena and P.K. Goyal.

The alleged scam dates back to between 2004 and 2009, during Lalu Prasad Yadav's tenure as Railway Minister.

During this period, two IRCTC hotels were supposedly leased without adhering to the established norms. One of these hotels was reportedly allocated to Sarla Gupta, spouse of Prem Gupta, a close associate of the RJD leader and a Rajya Sabha MP at that time. The prosecution claims that the RJD leader acquired three acres of prime land through a benami company.