Tejashwi Yadav has sought that the CBI summons against him be quashed or that the CBI be directed to question him in Patna or through videoconferencing. Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav has moved the Delhi High Court seeking a direction to quash the summons issued to him by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the case related to the alleged ‘land for jobs’ scam. The matter is listed on Thursday before a single-judge bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma. Yadav in his plea in the interim has prayed for a stay on the operation of the summoning notices requiring his attendance at the Delhi office of the CBI. He has further prayed for, in the alternative, that the CBI be directed to conduct his examination either at his residence in Patna or through video-conferencing. The agency had issued summons to Yadav on February 28, March 4 and March 11 to appear before its Delhi branch, which his plea claims is in contravention to the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure which states that a “police officer can only summon a person being within the limits of his own or adjoining police station”. The plea states that in Yadav’s case, he is a resident of Patna and is required to join the investigation in Delhi “which is neither within the jurisdiction of Patna nor adjoining the same”. “The impugned notices have been issued in gross violation of the provisions of the CrPC…,” the plea states. The plea points out that the CBI case pertains to “allegations against Lalu Prasad Yadav and other officers, wherein it has been alleged that some persons were provided jobs in the Indian Railways in Group D substitute post and in lieu of the same the land was transferred by them to the family members of Lalu Prasad Yadav”. The CBI case has been registered under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and criminal conspiracy of the IPC for the alleged offences committed between 2005-2009, the plea states. Yadav’s plea claims that during this period, “he did not have any connection whatsoever” with the alleged offence, and in fact, during this period, he was “missing”. Yadav has claimed that he has requested the investigating officer to allow him to appear in two weeks until after the conclusion of the current Bihar Legislative Assembly session on April 5. The plea claims that requests were made three times since he was newly appointed the deputy chief minister of Bihar and that he has “obligations” to attend the Assembly. The plea has further sought a direction to the CBI to permit Yadav’s lawyer to be present at a “visible but not audible distance” and also permission to seek legal consultation for “15 minutes after every two hours” at the time of recording of his statement. The same is sought to ensure that no questions are put to him which could expose him to a criminal charge. The plea claims that the right to fair investigation is a facet of Article 21 of the Constitution.