bureaucracy

Special CBI court acquits former coal secretary and 5 others in Coal Scam case

  • by Psu Connect
  • Date: 12-12-24

The judge stated that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that any misrepresentation occurred by the accused. Furthermore, the judge noted that no case of cheating was established, as there was no evidence of anyone being induced.

A special CBI court acquitted six individuals on Wednesday in an alleged coal scam case involving the allocation of two coal blocks in Odisha. The accused included former coal secretary H.C. Gupta, along with two other public servants. Special Judge Sanjay Bansal also acquitted Navabharat Power Pvt. Ltd., its then-chairman P. Trivikrama Prasad, then-managing director Y. Harish Chandra Prasad, former joint secretary in the coal ministry K.S. Kropha, and K.C. Samaria, a former director in the coal allocation section of the ministry.

The judge stated that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that any misrepresentation occurred by the accused. Furthermore, the judge noted that no case of cheating was established, as there was no evidence of anyone being induced.

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"When the application is complete, when the applicant company NPPL is eligible, and when no misrepresentations were made by the company, no question arises for the existence of any conspiracy. It is held that prosecution has failed to prove any conspiracy," the judge said.

The court said the charge of criminal breach of trust was defined under Section 405 of IPC against the public servants "cannot be said to have been made out". "All the accused are hereby acquitted of all the charges," the verdict held.

According to the CBI, the company, Y Harish Chandra Prasad and P Trivikrama Prasad hatched a criminal conspiracy in 2006-08 with Gupta, Kropha, and Samaria, and cheated the Ministry of Coal, Government of India, by making a false claim over the land and company's net worth in the application and feedback forms, and induced the ministry to allocate the coal block in favor of the company.

The central probe agency said the company made fraudulent misrepresentations through Y Harish Chandra Prasad, as per the authorization of chairman P Trivikrama Prasad, regarding its net worth and the land for the allocation of coal blocks Rampia and Dipside of Rampia in Odisha.

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