Finding a “strong suspicion” of abuse of public office and proceeds of crime, a Delhi court on Thursday ordered framing of money-laundering charges against RJD president and former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi and son Tejashwi Yadav in a case linked to the alleged manipulation of tenders for two railway (IRCTC) hotels and transfer of prime land in Patna.Special Judge (PC Act) Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Courts held that there was sufficient material at this stage to proceed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against nine accused, including members of the Yadav family.The court, however, drew a line between the accused and discharged seven others, including Lalu’s son-in-law Rahul Yadav, finding insufficient grounds to put them on trial in the money-laundering case.At the centre of Thursday’s order was a parcel of land in Patna and the prosecution’s allegation that its ownership was ultimately routed to members of the Yadav family following the award of leases for IRCTC hotels in Ranchi and Puri.“There exists a strong suspicion of abuse of office and proceeds of crime in the hands of Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav,” the court observed while pronouncing its order.The judge said the two continued to enjoy the allegedly tainted Patna property, which, according to the prosecution case, reached them at Lalu’s behest through transactions carried out over the years.The court referred to allegations that while Lalu was Railway Minister, railway officials manipulated a tender for leasing the Ranchi and Puri hotels. The directors of the beneficiary company allegedly transferred the Patna land to Sarla Gupta, described as a close associate of Lalu, following which shares were transferred to Rabri Devi for a nominal consideration.It is this alleged trail, from the railway hotel contracts to the land transaction and its eventual control, that forms the backbone of the Enforcement Directorate’s money-laundering case.Apart from Lalu, Rabri and Tejashwi, the court ordered charges against Lara Projects LLP, Sarla Gupta, former Union Minister Prem Chand Gupta, Sujata Hotels, Vinay Kochhar and Vijay Kochhar.Rahul Yadav, Gaurav Gupta, Nath Mal Kakrania, Vijay Tripathi, Deoki Nandan Tulshyan, Rajiv Kumar Relan and Abhishek Finance Private Limited were discharged. Formal charges will be drawn up on October 3.The order marks another legal setback for the Yadav family in the case, nearly a year after the same court ordered them to face trial in the CBI’s predicate corruption case arising from the alleged transactions.On October 13, 2025, the court had ordered charges of corruption, criminal conspiracy and cheating against Lalu, while Rabri and Tejashwi were ordered to face charges, including conspiracy and cheating.The CBI case goes back to Lalu’s tenure as Railway Minister between 2004 and 2009.According to the agency, two IRCTC hotels, at Ranchi and Puri, were leased to Sujata Hotels through an allegedly manipulated tender process. Investigators claim that, in return, valuable land in Patna was transferred through a series of transactions to an entity linked to the Yadav family for a consideration far below its market value.The ED subsequently registered its PMLA case on the basis of the CBI FIR, alleging that the transactions generated and dealt with proceeds of crime.The Yadav family has consistently denied wrongdoing and challenged the prosecution case, maintaining that there is no evidence against them and alleging that the investigations are politically motivated.