Coal block case: Court summons Delhi-based company's officials

New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) A court here on Monday issued summons to chief executive officer (CEO) and two senior officers of a Delhi-based company in a coal block allocation case.

Special Judge Bharat Parashar issued summons to Rathi Steel and Power Limited's (RSPL) CEO Udit Rathi, managing director Pradeep Rathi, and assistant general manager (AGM) Kushal Aggarwal, asking them to appear before the court on March 13.

The orders were issued, taking cognisance of a chargesheet filed against the company and its CEO, in a case related to allocation of Kesla North coal block in Korba, Chhattisgarh.

The CBI has chargesheeted the company and its CEO under charges dealing with criminal conspiracy and cheating.

Though Pradeep and Aggarwal were not chargesheeted, the court summoned them observing that both also conspired to cheat Ministry of Coal (MOC) authorities to procure allotment of a coal block in favour of RSPL.

The court said: "It is prima facie clear that Pradeep, Udit and Aggarwal, who all appeared before the screening committee for making presentation and submitting a feedback form on Feb 7, 2008 on behalf of RSPL, prima-facie conspired together to submit a highly inflated claim about the actual land in its possession with a view to cheat the concerned MOC authorities who were having dominion over the nationalised natural resources of the country i.e. coal."

"Thus prima facie the three officers of M/s RSPL namely Pradeep, Udit and Aggarwal and M/s RSPL conspired together so as to submit a highly inflated claim about land actually in possession of the company M/s RSPL," the court held.

On June 19, 2013, the CBI had registered an FIR against the company naming its chief executive officer Udit Rathi and other unidentified person for alleged criminal conspiracy and cheating.