New Delhi, Jan 30 (IANS) A special court Friday said former minister of state for coal Santosh Bagrodia, ex-coal secretary H.C. Gupta and another official of the ministry prima facie committed criminal misconduct and facilitated AMR Iron and Steel in obtaining a coal block "unlawfully".
"It is thus prima facie clear from the overall facts and circumstances of the case that the ministry of coal officers namely L.S. Janoti, section officer, CA-I, MOC, H.C. Gupta, secretary MOC and chairman, Screening Committee alongwith Minister of State for Coal, Santosh Bagrodia, prima facie committed the offence of criminal misconduct under section 13 (1) (d) read with Section 13 (2) Prevention of Corruption Act while entering into a criminal conspiracy with the private parties involved in the impugned coal block allocation to AMR and thereby facilitated AMR to obtain allocation of 'Bander Coal Block' unlawfully," said Special Judge Bharat Parashar.
The court noted that out of the three against whom cognisance need to be taken, only Janoti is still in government service and said prior sanction of the competent authority was required to prosecute him for the offence punishable under the graft charges.
The judge's observation came while directing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to further probe a coal blocks allocation scam case in which the agency has charged Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Darda, his son Devendra Darda, AMR Iron and Steel director Manoj Jayaswal and the firm, as accused.
The court posted the matter for filing of progress report of further investigation Feb 13.
The court also said: "In fact even in the PMO, the officers dealing with the matter paid no attention to the facts and simply proceeded on the basis of noting coming from MoC. Certainly it was their bounden duty to carefully go through the entire record lest they were misled by any wrong noting coming from MoC."
Describing Gupta's role, the court said he "consciously helped" AMR in suppressing the crucial information from the government and facilitated misappropriation of the natural resources of the country.
"Santosh Bagrodia was also well aware that equity holders of AMR had been earlier also allotted a number of coal blocks," the court said. It added that Bagrodia himself had asked for the share holding pattern of the firm and its commitment towards developing coal blocks along with specific milestones with timelines for each milestone.
Vijay Darda, Devendra Darda, Jayaswal and the firm are chargesheeted under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) read with 420 (cheating) of IPC and under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
All three individuals are out on bail.
45,000 Security Personnel to Guard Delhi on R-Day
New Delhi, Jan 24 (IANS) Over 1,000 NSG snipers along with 44,000 security personnel from Delhi Police and paramilitary forces will be guarding the national capital on Republic Day to ensure a safe
Thug Sukesh's fifth letter in 35 days: Said - I am attacked inside the jail, transferred to a jail outside Delhi
Sukesh Chandrashekhar, a thug lodged in Delhi's Mandoli Jail, has written the fifth letter. Sukesh has written to shift him and his wife to some other jail outside Delhi. The thug said that I am
The world is angry then why did Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi go to Kabul to meet the Taliban
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has suddenly reached Afghanistan after Pakistan. Wang Yi arrived in Kabul at a time when the international community expressed concern and outrage over the Taliban
Trolled for reciting the mantra to Tarak Mehta's Bhide, the answer won the trolling's heart too
Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah is one of the favorite serials of TV watchers. Its characters are also very much liked by the people. Mandar Chandavarkar i.e. Atmaram Bhide has shared a video on
Impeachment motion submitted against Donald Trump, will he be evicted from power?
The Democratic Party has submitted two impeachment motions against him in the US Parliament a short while ago over President Donald Trump's role in the violence of the Capitol Building last week.
Stray pigs banned in Gurgaon
Chandigarh, Feb 18 (IANS) The nuisance of stray pigs in Gurgaon city is likely to be controlled with the authorities banning them."Roaming of pigs will be completely banned in the areas falling
Kunal Kamra's troubles will increase, Mumbai Police sent a third summons; calling for an appearance on 5th April
Mumbai Police has issued a third summons to stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra. He has been asked to appear on April 5 in connection with making derogatory remarks about the state's Deputy Chief Minister
Abu Dhabi: '10 agreements signed between India and UAE under the leadership of PM Modi', Foreign Secretary Kwatra gave details
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting the United Arab Emirates on a two-day visit. Today he will inaugurate the first Hindu temple of Abu Dhabi. Regarding his visit, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan
Kejriwal's suggestion - there should be a picture of Lakshmi-Ganesh on the currency: Delhi CM said - if both are blessed, the economy will improve
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has appealed to the central government to print the picture of Shri Lakshmi-Ganesh on the reverse side of the Indian currency. He said in a press conference that
Salman Khan: The story behind threatening Salman Khan surfaced, this person came into the custody of the police
A few days after Sidhu Musewala was killed, a threatening letter was sent to Bollywood actor Salman Khan and his father Salim Khan. In this letter, there was talk of making 'moosewala-like condition'.
