Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, August 16: The appeal filed by former Coal Secretary H C Gupta and Joint Secretary of Coal K S Kropha, who were convicted and sentenced in a case involving irregularities in the allocation of a coal block in Chhattisgarh, was accepted by the Delhi High Court on Wednesday.
In response to the appeal filed by HC Gupta and KS Kropha, the bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma gave the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) notice after taking note of the arguments given by the attorneys for both parties.
In the case before the Delhi High Court, attorneys Rahul Tyagi and Tarannum Cheema represented the appellants and the Central Bureau of Investigation, respectively.
In a case involving alleged irregularities in the allocation of a coal block in Chhattisgarh, the Delhi High Court had earlier granted interim bail to businessman Manoj Kumar Jayaswal, former Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Darda and his son Devender Darda.
Sanjay Bansal, the trial court judge, sentenced the former coal secretary Gupta and two senior public servants, K S Kropha and K C Samria, to three years in prison in the case and then granted bail to all three public servants in the matter.
JLD Yavatmal Energy Ltd company, which was charged under Sections 120-B IPC, 120-B r/w S. 420 IPC and 13 (1)(d)(iii) r/w 13(2) PC Act was fined Rs 50 lakh.
All of them were found guilty and sentenced to prison by Special Judge Sanjay Bansal for violating sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code as well as the relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The accused were cleared of all charges under Section 409 of the IPC (Criminal Breach of Trust by Public Servants), nevertheless.
Earlier, the CBI informed the court that JLD Yavatmal Energy Limited obtained the Fatehpur East Coal Block in Chhattisgarh as a result of misrepresenting information about the eligibility requirements as part of the alleged criminal conspiracy.
This was the thirteenth conviction in the case involving the coal scam, according to the CBI.
In conjunction with allegations that coal blocks were assigned based on fraudulent statements and claims made in applications and presentations, as well as on the connivance or lack of diligence on the part of public servants, the CBI has filed cases relating to the coal scam.
