The investigation report was filed on the basis of a statement given Suresh Singhal – the prosecution witness, chartered accountant and director of New Delhi Exim Pvt Ltd (NDEPL), who has turned approver in the case.
The CBI filed its final report in the coal block allocation case pertaining to former Congress MP Naveen Jindal's case on Friday.
The investigation report was filed on the basis of a statement given Suresh Singhal – the prosecution witness, chartered accountant and director of New Delhi Exim Pvt Ltd (NDEPL), who has turned approver in the case.
In its report, the CBI cited expert opinions from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) and statements from at least 50 prosecution witnesses including Singhal.
However, Special CBI judge Bharat Parashar chastised the probe agency for not filing the report in the prescribed format. The special judge further pulled up the CBI for their delay in filing the report. The judge stated that the delay affected the progress of the trial.
On April 29, the special court at Patiala House charged Jindal, former Chief Minster Madhu Koda, former minister of state Dasari Narayan Rao and 12 others in the coal scam case. "Charges to be framed against all accused under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) read with 409 and 420 of IPC and under sections 13(1)(c), 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act," the court said.
Besides Jindal, Koda and Rao, 12 others including former Coal Secretary HC Gupta were charge sheeted by the CBI in a case pertaining to alleged irregularities in allocation of the Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block to Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) and Gagan Sponge Iron Private Ltd (GSIPL) in 2008.
The other accused in the case are: Rajeev Jain, Director of Jindal Realty Pvt Ltd, Girish Kumar Suneja and Radha Krishna Saraf, Directors of GSIPL, Suresh Singhal, Director of New Delhi Exim Pvt Ltd, K Ramakrishna Prasad, Managing Director of Sowbhagya Media Ltd and chartered accountant Gyan Swaroop Garg. All accused are currently out on bail. Five firms Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL), Jindal Realty Pvt Ltd, Gagan Infraenergy Ltd (formerly known as GSIPL), Sowbhagya Media Ltd and New Delhi Exim Pvt Ltd are also on trial.
The coal scam refers to a draft report released in March, 2014, by the Comptroller Audit General (CAG) stated that the government exchequer lost Rs1.86 crore since it allotted the coal blocks to private entities and Public Sector Units (PSU) instead of auctioning it during the years 2004-2009. However in 2012, following a complaint lodged by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – the opposition party at the time, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) initiated an inquiry to probe allegations of corruption. Consequently, an First Information Report (FIR) report was filed by the probe agency that accused almost a dozen firms overstating their net worth, failing to disclose prior coal allocations, and hoarding rather than developing coal allocations.
The special judge has posted the matter for further hearing on January 23.
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