Former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi alleges bias, seeks new judge for trial

Former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi moved a Delhi court on Monday, seeking transfer of the trial in four Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) cases against her to a different judge, alleging bias in proceedings.Principal sessions judge Dinesh Bhatt (Rouse Avenue Court) is likely to be take up the plea later on Monday.

The application, moved through Advocate Varun Jain and Navin Kumar, said the four cases are pending trial before special judge Vishal Gogne (Rouse Avenue Court). It sought the transfer of the cases to some other court of competent jurisdiction, citing “a reasonable and bona fide apprehension of the applicant that she would not get a fair and impartial trial before this court”.

“The applicant accused has not only experienced bias during court proceedings but also has a reasonable belief that the...Special Judge conducts the proceedings with a premeditated mind with a sole aim to convict the applicant in the present cases,” said the plea.

It said the conduct and approach of the special judge, as evident from the proceedings on multiple dates, appears to be disproportionately inclined in favour of the prosecution, thereby affecting the neutrality expected from the court.

The plea said that such a conduct has created a reasonable likelihood of bias, which was not based on speculation but on specific instances which had taken place during the course of the proceedings in the four cases.

In one of the four cases, the court in October framed charges, holding Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rabri Devi's husband and former railways minister, to be the fountainhead of a criminal conspiracy who manipulated a railway tender in exchange for land and other favours.

The alleged land-for-jobs case is another case against the couple pending before special judge Gogne. The case is at the stage of framing charges. Yadav is accused of making appointments in exchange for land parcels during his tenure as the railway minister from 2004 to 2009.

Source: HindustanTimes
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