Tejashwi Yadav contested the CBI’s summons on Wednesday. (File)
New Delhi:
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday challenged the CBI’s summons and asked him to appear for questioning in the alleged land-for-jobs scam in the Delhi High Court. A bench headed by Judge Dinesh Kumar Sharma will hear his petition tomorrow.
Mr. Yadav argued in his petition that although he was a resident of Patna, he was asked to appear for questioning in Delhi in violation of Section 160 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Under the provision, he said, a notice can only be issued to a person who is within the local jurisdiction of a police station or the adjoining police station.
The 33-year-old petitioned the CBI for time to appear before the CBI after the end of the current Bihar Assembly session. As the newly appointed deputy prime minister, it is his responsibility to attend the session, he said.
The CBI has so far made three notifications (February 28, March 4 and March 11) to Mr. Yadav. The deputy chief minister of Bihar has requested that the summons be set aside.
Mr. Yadav also requested “the presence of his lawyer(s) at a visible but inaudible distance as per the law of the Supreme Court of India” during his interrogation.
Mr. Yadav and some of his relatives, including parents Lalu Yadav and Rabri Devi, are under investigation in the alleged land-for-jobs scam.
Tejashwi Yadav assured his full cooperation and assistance with the ongoing investigation.
Lalu Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi – both former Bihar Chief Ministers – and their daughter Misa Bharti were released on bail by a court in the case on Wednesday.
The Yadavs are accused of buying dirt-cheap land in exchange for jobs during Rashtriya Janata Dal boss’s tenure as Union Railway Minister from 2004 to 2009.
The CBI alleged in its charge sheet that irregular appointments of candidates had been made to the Central Railway, in violation of the Indian Railways’ established standards and procedures for recruitment.
