New Delhi : A court here on Wednesday issued summons to industrialist Naveen Jindal, former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda and others in the coal block allocation case.
The others, who were issued summons, included former union minister of state for coal Dasari Narayan Rao and former coal secretary H.C. Gupta.
Special Judge Bharat Parashar issued the summons against Jindal, Koda, Rao, Gupta and 11 other accused in the case and asked them to appear on May 22 after taking cognisance of the chargesheet filed by CBI.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on April 29 filed a chargesheet against Jindal, Koda, Rao, Gupta with six other individuals director of New Delhi Exim, Suresh Singhal, director of Jindal Realty, Rajeev Jain, directors of Gagan Sponge Girish Kumar Juneja and R.K. Saraf, Sowbhagya Media’s managing director K. Ramakrishna and chartered accountant Gyan Swaroop Garg.
Five private companies — four based in Delhi and one in Hyderabad — have also been named in the chargesheet.
The companies named in the chargesheet are Jindal Steel and Power Ltd., Gagan Sponge Iron Pvt. Ltd., Jindal Reality Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi Exim Pvt. Ltd. and Sowbhagya Media Ltd.
The CBI has formally charged them with criminal conspiracy, cheating and various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The case relates to the allocation of Jharkhand’s Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block to Jindal Steel and Gagan Sponge.
“The role of Gupta, Secretary (Coal) and Rao, MOS (coal) also prima facie stands out as they were having dominion over the important nationalised natural resources i.e. coal, of the country and by their aforesaid acts of omission and commission facilitated misappropriation of the said resources by Jindal group of companies and that too prima facie in complete disregard to public interest and the directions as were inbuilt in the trust so imposed upon them by law,” the court said.
“The clandestine manner in which Rs.2 crore stood transferred in favour of Sowbhagya Media, a company controlled by Rao, from Jindal Realty, a Jindal group company further prima facie shows the existence of a well-planned criminal conspiracy between the private parties and the public servants involved in the entire coal block allocation process.”
Noting the role of Rajeev Jain in facilitating the transfer of said Rs.2 crore by entering into an agreement with Santosh Singhal wife of Suresh Singhal to this effect and the court said it also prima facie shows the existence of a well planned criminal conspiracy hatched by them all and where each of them played an important role towards achieving the end objective i.e. of procuring allocation of entire “Amarkonda Murgadangal Coal Block” to the exclusion of all other applicant companies.
The court said that it is prima facie clear that Jindal being the promoter of JSPL and GSIPL manipulated the entire government machinery both in the State of Jharkhand and in the MOC so as to procure undue allotment of entire “Amarkonda Murgadangal Coal Block” in the name of its two group companies.
The final report prima facie shows the pivotal role played by him in the criminal conspiracy so as to procure allotment of impugned coal block in favour of its two companies JSPL and GSIPL.
“Thus from the over all facts and circumstances of the case as discussed above, I am of the considered opinion that prima facie offences under section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) read with section 409 (criminal breach of trust)/420 (cheating)Indian Penal Code read with section 13 (1) (c)/ 13 (1) (d) (criminal misconduct) Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 are clearly made out against all the fifteen accused persons,” the court said.
The agency has said the Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block allocation was recommended by the 35th screening committee.
“It was alleged that two steel and iron companies based in Delhi misrepresented facts to get coal blocks. Also, there was alleged investment in a Hyderabad-based firm from the group of companies based at Delhi,” said a CBI official.
Rao was the union minister of state for coal between 2006 and 2009 when the irregularities allegedly took place.
According to the official, searches were conducted on June 11, 2013 at 19 locations in Delhi and Hyderabad in connection with the case.