Chhattisgarh coal scam: Ex-Congress MP, son and aide get 4-year jail term. Delhi court also sentenced a former coal secretary and two senior public servants to three years in prison for their role in the irregular allocation of a coal block.
NEW DELHI (India CSR): A Delhi court on Wednesday sentenced former Rajya Sabha Congress MP Vijay Darda and his son Devender Darda, who runs the Lokmat Group of newspapers, and Manoj Kumar Jaiswal, director of JLD Yavatmal Energy Pvt Ltd, to four years in jail in a case relating to the irregularities in the allocation of a coal block in Chhattisgarh.
Court Sentences Ex-Coal Secretary, Public Servants to Three-Year Jail Term
The court also sentenced former coal secretary HC Gupta, as well as senior public servants KS Kropha and KC Samria, to a three-year jail term in the same case.
Accused guilty of criminal conspiracy and cheating
The court of Special Judge Sanjay Bansal held the accused guilty of criminal conspiracy (punishable under Section 120-B of IPC) and cheating (punishable under section 420 of IPC), as well as some sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The court accepted the submissions made by senior public prosecutor AP Singh that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was able to prove its case beyond all reasonable doubt. It had on November 20, 2014, refused to accept the closure report submitted by the CBI in the case and had directed the federal probe agency to investigate it afresh, stating that the former MP had “misrepresented” facts in letters written to the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who held the coal portfolio.
The coal block scandal rocked the UPA government
This was a major scandal that had rocked the Manmohan Singh government in 2012 after the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) panned it for inefficient allocation of 194 coal blocks to public sector enterprises and private companies between 2004 and 2009 for captive use in a non-transparent manner.
Supreme Court Cancels Coal Blocks After CAG Estimates Rs 1.86 Lakh Cr Loss
The CAG had estimated that the loss to the exchequer due to the allocation of coal blocks without auction was Rs 1.86 lakh crore. The Supreme Court later cancelled 214 out of 218 coal blocks allocated since 1993, terming them illegal and arbitrary.
Darda Accused in Coal Scam for Influence in Son’s Company Allocation
The CBI had registered several FIRs against various companies and individuals for their alleged involvement in the coal scam. The case against Vijay Darda and others pertained to the allocation of the Fatehpur East coal block in Chhattisgarh to JLD Yavatmal Energy Pvt Ltd. The CBI had alleged that Vijay Darda had used his influence with Manmohan Singh to secure the allocation of the coal block for his son’s company.
The CBI had also alleged that Gupta, Kropha and Samria had abused their official positions and favoured JLD Yavatmal Energy Pvt Ltd. The accused had denied all charges against them.
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