Earlier, a Chhattisgarh coal block allocation case resulted in the conviction of all accused by Special CBI Judge Sanjay Bansal at the Rouse Avenue Courts.
The Delhi court sentenced former Rajya Sabha member Vijay Darda, his son Devender Darda, and the director of JLD Yavatmal Energy Pvt. Ltd. to four years in prison for irregularities in the allocation of the coal block in Chhattisgarh. At the same time, Coal Secretary HC Gupta and IAS officers KS Kropha and KC Samria received three years in prison.
In addition to the prison sentences, fines were imposed on the Dardas and Jayaswals, amounting to 10 lakhs each, while the Guptas, Krophas, and Samrias were fined 10,000 each.
The court handed down the order on July 13, finding all the defendants guilty of violating Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Indian Penal Code, as well as Section 13(1)(d)(iii) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
This marks the thirteenth conviction in the case related to the coal fraud.
The case revolves around the allocation of coal blocks advertised in 2006. Allegedly, JLD Yavatmal Energy Pvt. Ltd. provided false information on its application form to gain an unfair advantage in obtaining the coal block.
The coal tract was allocated to JLD due to the active collaboration between the company’s executives and Ministry of Coal officials, including Gupta, Kropha, and Samria.
Gupta, who was Coal Secretary and Chairman of the Screening Committee, along with Kropha as Joint Secretary and Screening Committee Member Convener, and Samria, associated with the MoC, were accused of being involved in processing and allocating the coal block.
In 2014, the CBI initially filed a closure report stating lack of evidence of criminal conspiracy. However, the closure report was rejected by the previous magistrate in November 2014, who found evidence of collusion between private parties and MoC officials.
The court’s extensive 400-page order concluded that the accused company had made false statements and deceived the Government of India.
The court emphasized that public servants should be held accountable for their actions, and while the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Coal may not be considered legal under Article 13 of the Constitution, they were binding on the officers.
Moreover, the court stated that allocating a coal block to an ineligible company is against the public interest, and the actions of the three officers clearly indicated their intent to recommend the coal block allocation to JLD.
