Apart from the jail term, Special CBI judge Bharat Parashar fined the three government officials a cumulative fine of Rs 1 lakh each
A sessions court here on Monday awarded a two-year jail term to former coal secretary HC Gupta, who was convicted in the coal scam on May 19.
Special CBI judge Bharat Parashar also sentenced two senior government officials KS Kropha and KC Samaria to two years in jail. Apart from the jail term, Parashar fined the three government officials a cumulative fine of Rs 1 lakh each.
Private firm Kamal Sponge and Steel Pvt Ltd (KSSPL), which was also convicted, were fined Rs 1 crore. Its managing director Pawan Kumar Ahluwalia was awarded a jail sentence of three years and a fine of Rs 30 lakh.
However, since the jail term is less than or up to three years, all the convicts can appeal their conviction and their sentence while out on bail. All of them were granted bail.
However, the bail will be revoked if the fine amount is not deposited before June 5.
Gupta chose to remain mum after the proceedings. However, he maintained his innocence and conceded that he would appeal in a higher court.
A person cannot be convicted twice for the same crime, a source close to Gupta said. Elaborating on this point, he added that all applications for the coal block came before the same Screening Committee (SC). "The process to decide on the coal blocks and the consequent decisions taken were the same, Hence we cannot convict Gupta again for the same crime."
The process and the decision were as per directions laid down in the Central Secretariat Manual of Office Procedure. According to para 30 in the manual, deviation from the laid-down procedure invites disciplinary and criminal action against government officers.
"The judgment was based on the oral inference as opposed to the impeccably documented record by the Centre in the regular course of business," the source added.
On May 19, Parashar's court found that former Gupta intentionally misled the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who was also the coal minister.
"Dishonest representation by the accused persons before the SC continued even before the Prime Minister as Minister of Coal when he approved the recommendation of the SC," Parashar said in his 350-page judgment.
"The SC was admittedly constituted to deal with all applications received for allotment of various coal blocks and to make its recommendation thereafter. The Prime Minister, as minister of coal, was thus to act upon the said recommendation only. Accordingly, the dishonest misrepresentation made before the SC continued even before the Prime Minister as minister of coal when he approved the recommendations of the SC," the order read.
The case of KSSPL and four others who were found guilty of cheating and conspiracy is the third conviction in the coal scam case.
Among those found guilty, Gupta was the first public servant to be convicted.
"All the five accused – M/s KSSPL, Pawan Kumar Ahluwalia, Gupta, Kropha and Samria – stand convicted for the offences u/s 120B IPC r/w section 420 IPC and section 13(1)(d) (ii)/13(1)(d)(iii) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988," Parashar said. "Accused Amit Goyal is, however, acquitted of all charges," he added.
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