New Delhi, Oct. 14 -- Less than a month before Bihar goes to polls, a Delhi court on Monday framed charges of corruption, conspiracy and cheating against Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife and former chief minister Rabri Devi, and their son and leader of opposition Tejashwi Yadav, in connection with the alleged IRCTC hotels scam. The court described Lalu Prasad as the "fountainhead of a criminal conspiracy" that manipulated a railway tender in exchange for land and other favours. The development comes as Bihar heads into a high-stakes assembly election, to be held in two phases on November 6 and 11, with counting on November 14. The timing of the order, barely weeks before campaigning enters its final stretch, is likely to reverberate across Bihar's political landscape and may set the tone of the state's campaign in the weeks ahead. The case, investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), centres on alleged irregularities in the leasing of two Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) hotels -- the BNR Hotels in Ranchi and Puri, to a private company, Sujata Hotels Pvt Ltd, owned by Vijay and Vinay Kochhar, during Lalu Prasad's tenure as Union Railway Minister. The agency alleges that the tender process was rigged to favour the Kochhars' firm in exchange for land and company shares transferred to Yadav's family at throwaway prices. Framing charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act and provisions of the Indian Penal Code for criminal conspiracy and cheating, special judge Vishal Gogne noted that there was prima facie material to show that Yadav "abused his position" as railway minister to influence the tender process. "A-1 (Lalu Prasad Yadav) was prima facie in complete know of the processes relating to the proposed transfer of the BNR hotels at Ranchi and Puri to IRCTC.He did intervene, and that too by oral instructions, on at least two occasions to influence the pace and process of transfer," the order stated. The judge said the conspiracy was "multi-layered" and involved the Kochhar brothers, senior IRCTC officials, and members of Yadav's family, who allegedly received land parcels in Patna and undervalued shares through a shell company in exchange for favours extended to Sujata Hotels. "The court has again reached a prima facie finding that the valuation of the shares raises grave suspicion and caused wrongful loss to the state exchequer," it held. Lalu Prasad, who appeared in court in a wheelchair, pleaded not guilty along with Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav, who were also present. Represented by senior advocate Maninder Singh, they sought trial in the case, which will commence on October 27, when the prosecution begins presenting its evidence. The court also framed conspiracy and cheating charges against Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav, observing that there was "grave suspicion" over their receipt of undervalued land parcels and shares from the Kochhar brothers through a firm named DMCPL. "What elevates the suspicion to the grade of grave suspicion is that the land and share transactions were possibly an instance of crony capitalism fostered in the garb of eliciting private participation in the railway hotels... whereby commercial players ingratiated themselves to the then Minister of Railways by transferring their prime land at Patna to his wife and son," the order read. Finding the entire transaction "fraudulent," the court said it did not merit a discharge for any of the accused. It framed common charges of conspiracy and cheating against 10 other accused, including five IRCTC officials and former Union minister Prem Chand Gupta. According to the CBI chargesheet, between 2004 and 2014, the BNR hotels were first transferred from the Railways to IRCTC and later leased out to Sujata Hotels for operations and maintenance. The agency alleges that the tender was manipulated to ensure Sujata Hotels' selection, causing a loss to the public exchequer. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also filed a money laundering case against Lalu Prasad, Rabri Devi, Tejashwi Yadav, and their daughter, based on the CBI's findings. That case, too, is at the stage of arguments on charge. Lalu and his family are simultaneously facing prosecution in the separate land-for-jobs scam, where the CBI has accused the former railway minister of accepting land transfers in return for jobs in the Railways between 2004 and 2009. That case also involves his wife, both sons, Tejashwi and Tej Pratap, and daughter Hema Yadav, with over 70 public servants....