A Delhi court on Tuesday rejected the plea of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to cancel the bail granted to Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav in the IRCTC scam case.
The special CBI court, however, warned the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader to choose appropriate words and be more careful while speaking in public.
In its plea, the CBI said that Yadav was intimidating officials of the agency and influencing the investigation in the IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation) case. It cited statements made by the deputy CM against the agency in his press conferences.
Accusing the BJP-led Central government of selectively targeting political opponents by unleashing investigation agencies after their leaders in what he called “fake cases”, Yadav had termed the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Income Tax Department as extended offices of the saffron party.
During the court hearing, Yadav’s lawyer rejected the CBI’s allegations, stating that he made remarks in the context of other cases of corruption.
After the arguments, the court told Yadav: “As a deputy chief minister, you must understand that your words have a great impact on the people. This should not happen again.”
While rejecting the CBI plea, the court said that it did not find any specific ground for cancelling the bail.
Tejashwi, who became the Bihar deputy CM for the second time in August this year after the collapse of the Janata Dal-United (JDU)-BJP government, is accused in an alleged scam in the award of contract of two hotels of the IRTC to a private firm during the stint of his father Lalu as the railway minister.
Lalu Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi, who also served as the chief minister, are also accused in the 2017 case.
In May, the CBI searched properties of Tejashwi, Lalu and Rabri in Patna, Gopalganj and Delhi. The agency has filed a charge sheet against the three.