The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the trial court proceedings against Bihar’s former Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in a money-laundering case linked to an alleged land-for-jobs scam, Live Law reported.

The case centres on allegations that between 2004 and 2009, when Yadav was the Union railway minister, land was illegally acquired at reduced prices in exchange for appointments to Group-D positions in the Indian Railways.

The Central Bureau of Investigation filed its chargesheet in the matter on October 10, 2022, naming 16 persons, including Yadav and his wife Rabri Devi, Live Law reported.

On Friday, a bench of Justices MM Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh was hearing Yadav’s appeal against a Delhi High Court’s May 29 order, which had refused to stay the trial.

Yadav had sought to pause the proceedings while his plea to quash the first information report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation in 2022 was still pending.

“We will dismiss the appeal and we will say that let the main matter be decided,” said the Supreme Court.

The bench requested the Delhi High Court to expedite the hearing of Yadav’s main plea seeking quashing of the FIR. It also exempted the Rashtriya Janata Dal leader from personally appearing before the trial court, according to Live Law.

The Central Bureau of Investigation has alleged that land parcels were transferred to Yadav’s family members, including his wife and daughters Misa Bharti and Hema Yadav, at prices significantly below the market value. Those who transferred the land parcels to Yadav’s family were allegedly given jobs in return.

The transfers to Yadav’s family led to them acquiring more than one lakh square feet of land for just Rs 26 lakh, compared to a circle rate of more than Rs 4.39 crore, the probe agency has alleged.

It has named 78 persons as accused in the case, including 30 government officials.